Family ANATID^. Genus Mergus. 



Subfamily Fuligvlin^. 



SMEW. 



MERGUS ALBELLUS— Z/««««j. 



Geographical Distribution. — British: Rare and irregular 

 winter visitor to the British Islands, where, as one might naturally 

 expect from the peculiarities of its normal geographical area, it is 

 most frequently observed on our eastern seaboard. Adult males 

 are nothing near so frequently observed as young males and 

 females, and these are pretty generally dispersed along the south 

 and east coasts of England and the east coast of Scotland. On 

 the west of England and Scotland, including the Hebrides, it is 

 much rarer. In Ireland it is also of rare and irregular appearance, 

 principally in the north and central districts. Foreign : Northern 

 Palaearctic region, more southerly in winter ; extreme north of 

 Oriental region in winter. Breeds in Russia as far west as 

 Finnish Lapland, as far north as the Arctic Circle, and as far 

 south as the Gulf of Finland in the west, and to the valleys of the 

 Kama and Lower Volga in the east. Thence it may be traced 

 across northern Siberia south of the Arctic Circle (some authorities 

 say the limit of forest growth) to the shores of the Pacific. During 

 migration or in winter it is an accidental wanderer to the Scan- 

 dinavian coasts (both the Atlantic and the Baltic), but it is not 

 known to visit the Faroes and Iceland. It is also found at this 

 season along the coasts and on the inland waters of Central, Western, 

 and Southern Europe, as far south as Morocco and the Mediter- 

 ranean. It also visits the Black and Caspian Seas at this season. 

 On migration it crosses Turkestan, Southern Siberia, and Mongolia, 

 and winters in Northern India, China, and Japan. 



Allied Forms.— None of sufficient propinquity to call for 

 notice. 



