20 NOTES ON NEW ENGLAND BIRDS 



for the foaming crest of a wave. These flew soon, per- 

 haps scared by the eagle. I think they were a male and 

 female red-breasted merganser (though I did [not] see 

 the red of the breast), for I saw his red bill, and his 

 head was not large with a crest like the golden-eye ; 

 very white on breast and sides, the female browner. 1 

 As ducks often do, they first flew directly and unhesi- 

 tatingly up the stream, low over the water, for half a 

 mile, then turned and came down, flying thirty or forty 

 feet above the water, the male leading till they were 

 out of sight. This is the way with them, I notice ; they 

 first fly in one direction and then go off to alight in 

 another. When they came down the river, the male 

 leading, they were a very good example of the peculiar 

 flight of ducks. They appeared perfectly in a line one 

 behind the other. When they are not they preserve 

 perfect parallelism. This is because of their long necks 

 and feet, — the wings appearing to be attached mid- 

 way, — and moreover, in this case, of their perfectly 

 level flight, as if learned from skimming over the 

 water. 



April 6, 1855. You can hear all day, from time to 

 time, in any part of the village, the sound of a gun fired 

 at ducks. Yesterday I was wishing that I could find a 

 dead duck floating on the water, as I had found musk- 

 rats and a hare, and now I see something bright and 

 reflecting the light from the edge of the alders five or 

 six rods off. Can it be a duck ? I can hardly believe my 

 eyes. I am near enough to see its green head and neck. 

 I am delighted to find a perfect specimen of the Mergus 



1 Certainly mergansers, probably sheldrakes. 



