The Goosander. '95 



being greyish- white ; the eggs eight to twelve, of a creamy- white ; incubation 

 lasts twenty-eight days. 



The Goosander feeds exclusively on fish, its long, narrow, serrated bill, with 

 the teeth sloping backwards, being admirably adapted for seizing and holding 

 slippery prey. It is a most expert diver, and can remain immersed a considerable 

 time, and is never more at home than in a shallow stream in pursuit of the little 

 brown trout. The note of the male is harsh, that of the female is said to resemble 

 a low whistle. 



The adult male Goosander, (which is probably three, if not four, years in 

 getting the full plumage), is a most beautiful bird, with decided dark and light 

 contrasts. The crest on the head is full and thick, a glossy-black, shot with 

 green and purple ; fore part of back, some of the scapulars and primaries, black; the 

 secondaries and wing-coverts pure white, without any black bar as in the American 

 bird ; lower back, rump and tail, ash-grey ; the bill vermilion, with black nail ; 

 eyes red ; tarsi and feet orange ; the lower neck, breast and under parts, cream- white, 

 suffused with pink : this colour is very evanescent, and soon disappears in the 

 dead bird. An old male will weigh four pounds; the finest I ever saw measured 

 was 26^ inches in length over all. 



The adult female has a conspicuous crest which projects from the occiput. 

 Head and throat, also crest, light chestnut ; chin white ; lower parts white, with 

 a buff tinge ; upper parts bluish-ash colour ; there is a broad white band on the 

 wing ; the bill, tarsi, and feet, duller than male. The trachea in the female is 

 simple, in the male it has one or two dilatations, and an enormous labyrinth at 

 the lower end which is partly bone and partly membrane. The legs are short 

 and placed far behind, and it is not only an admirable diver, but can make very 

 good progress on land, moving easily and gracefully. The local name on the east 

 coast is "Saw-bill." In drawings and illustrations, the Mergansers should be 

 represented with a nearly straight outline for the back, like the Divers, and no 

 curved like a Duck. 



The old Lincolnshire spelling of the name was Gossander. Michael Drayton, 

 in the Polyolbion, says : — 



"The Gossander with them, my goodly fens do show, 

 His head as ebon black, the rest as white as snow." 



Goosander is " Goose-Duck," for the derivation of the word see Professor 

 Newton "A Dictionary of Birds," Part II., p. 371. 



