MERGANSERS 



(130) Mergus serrator Linn. 



(Lat., a sawyer). 



RED - BREASTED MERGAN- 

 SER. Nostrils nearer to the base 

 than to the end of the bill. Ad. d' — 

 Plumage as shown. Notice that the 

 head is crested. Ad. 9 — Shown 

 by the flying bird. Head brownish, 

 sUghtly .crested; back and wings 

 grayish. In any plumage easily 

 distinguished from the last species 

 by the position of the nostrils. L., 

 24.00; W., 9.00; T., 4.00; B., 2.20. 

 Nest — Of grass, on the ground; lined 

 with feathers from the breast of the 

 female; five to ten olive-buff eggs, 

 2^50 X 1.70. 



Range — Breeds from Me., Minn, 

 and B. C. north to the Arctic coast; 

 winters from Mass., Ind., and B. C. 

 south to Mexico. 



sers feed largely upon fish, a diet that renders their flesh very- 

 unpalatable. They secure fish in the same manner as grebes 

 and cormorants — by pursuing and catching them under 

 water. Like these same birds, mergansers are just as likely, 

 if alarmed, to seek safety by diving as by flight; they can 

 get under water as "quick as a flash, " but they usuaUy have 

 to patter a few feet along the surface before rising into the 

 air. Mergansers have a flap or lobe on the hind toe; just 

 how this can be of assistance to a duck in diving or swim- 

 ming is a mystery, but it is a fact that species that are good 

 divers or that habitually feed at some depth below the 

 surface do have this flap. 



Mergansers are very quiet, but it is said that the Red- 

 breasted species utters a low croak at times. 



HOODED MERGANSERS are exceedingly "beautiful 

 and very interesting ducks. The unique fan-shaped crest 

 of the male is an adorninent not only of beauty but is adapted 

 to express the various emotions of the bird, as it may be 



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