RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 251 



of this Merganser engaged in fishing in a cove, when 

 their movements attracted to them a large flock of Bona- 

 parte's Gull (Lartts Philadelphia), which hovered over the 

 Ducks for a moment and then began to plunge head for- 

 most into the water, one after another in rapid succession, 

 emerging frequently with a small fish in the bill. The 

 Mergansers paid no attention to their fellow-fishermen, 

 although at times a plunging Gull would come perilously 

 near one of the saw-billed gentry as he rose from the 

 depths; and what with the rising and disappearing Mer- 

 gansers, and the air above them filled with the forms of 

 the darting Gulls, executing all manner of swift and 

 graceful evolutions, the scene was very spirited and full 

 of animation. Although having a great partiality 

 for the sea-coast, and the bays and rivers adjacent 

 to the ocean, this Merganser is also found, per- 

 haps in not so large numbers, in the interior of the 

 United States; and among certain of the Wisconsin lakes 

 is of regular occurrence, as it passes north and south 

 on its annual migration in the spring and autumn. The 

 males generally precede the females, each sex traveling 

 toward their breeding grounds apart from the other. 

 The female of this species and that of the Goosander are 

 very much alike in the general color of their plumage, 

 and one might readily be mistaken for the other ; but the 

 Key indicates how each can be distinguished. The 

 female of the Goosander, however, is a little the larger. 

 The Red-breasted Merganser is not uncommon in 

 many parts of the British Islands and on the continent 

 of Europe. It is also found in Greenland and Iceland, 

 and goes eastward as far as Formosa, China, and Japan; 

 in fact, has a fairly general distribution over the northern 

 parts of both hemispheres. It is one of the Duck tribe 

 most frequently met with by the sportsman, especially 



