40 University of California Publications in Zoology. [Vol. 7 



that the head was submerp-ed about to the level of the eyes. The 

 water was evidently filtered through the bill, as a slight 

 "gabbling" noise was quite audible, and obviously something 

 was being retained as food, though just what it was I could not 

 tell. This is rather remarkable, as it is exactly the manner of 

 feeding usually employed by the shoveller {Spatula clypeata), a 

 species which, as regards bill structure, is further removed from 

 the mergansers than any other member of the Anatidae. In the 

 broad bill of the shoveller the lamellae have developed into 

 a whalebone-like structure, perfectly adapted to the sifting of 

 small objects from the water which is passed through the bill; 

 while in the mergansers they have assumed the appearance and 

 function of teeth, to detain the slippery fish which are the 

 usual food of these birds. 



A peculiar habit which made this species quite conspicuous 

 throughout the summer, was that of individuals rising high in 

 the air and circling about for hours at a time, uttering at fre- 

 quent and regular intervals a most unmelodious squawk. Both 

 sexes were observed doing this, and the habit was kept up until 

 about the end of August. 



The numerous broods of young that were seen made their 

 escape, not by diving, but by flapping along the surface of the 

 water, in which manner they progressed somewhat faster than 

 one can row a boat. The mother always herded them in front 

 of her, seldom attempting to take flight unless the danger was 

 imminent. On several occasions an old merganser was seen 

 floating gently down a stream, with may be half a dozen downy 

 young surrounding her, and with three or four perched upon 

 her back. 



But one specimen was secured, a young one in the down 

 (no. 7678), on the Chickamin River, June 20. 



Mergus senator Linnaeus. Red-breasted Merganser. 



At Three-mile Arm, Kuiu Island, from April 25 to May 6, 

 the red-breasted merganser was fairly abundant, usually in 

 small flocks of from three to six ; and on May 11 three individuals 

 were seen at Calder Bay, Prince of Wales Island. 



