38 



THE AMERICAN MERGANSERS 



There is a steady purpose and untiring energy in the 

 flight of Wild Ducks, whether they move in dotted 

 alignment against the distant sky or stare in suspicion 

 as they pass low, with straightened necks and stiff 

 rapid wings. Their full, heavy bodies and small, 

 pointed wings make flight a serious effort, quite 

 unlike the indolent soarings of the Gulls, the steady 

 undulations of the Herons, or the restless irregularity 

 of the inhabitants of the woods. They freely range 

 the continent from the arctic shores to the tropics, 

 making homes, according to their varied inclinations, 

 on the rocky shores, in the concealing marshes, in 

 trees, by hidden streams, and on the open prairie. 

 Most conspicuous in this varied family are the 

 American Mergansers, and a small detachment have 

 already arrived in search of summer quarters. Their 

 narrow-toothed bills indicate a fish diet, and this has 

 saved them from pursuit, but the conspicuous beauty 

 of their plumage and the graceful curves of their 

 changing attitudes are temptations to the predatory. 

 They swim about the edges of the weakening ice, 

 their red bills reflecting rich tints in the sunlight, 

 their heads of dark metallic green glistening like 



