THE HOODED MERGANSER. 405 



approached, the female sunk deep into the water, exhibiting only a very 

 small portion of her back above the surface, and swimming with neck 

 outstretched and low along the water. In endeavouring to drive the young 

 to the high grounds, for the purpose of capturing them, they all dived in 

 various directions, like Grebes. On conversing with an overseer, on the 

 following day, he mentioned to me that he had on the previous week 

 obtained several of the young in order to domesticate them, but having 

 neglected to feed them on animal food they had all died. On the following 

 day I met with two other broods, each of five, and was also shewn a cypress 

 tree {Capressus disticha) in the hollow of which a pair had been breeding 

 during the present season. As far as I could learn, they breed in similar 

 situations with the Summer Duck {Anas Sponsa), although generally a little 

 earlier. They were all peculiarly marked with two white spots behind the 

 wings on the back. 



In an adult male, the width of the mouth is 1\ twelfths; the palate is flat, 

 as is the anterior part of the roof of the mouth, on which are two longi- 

 tudinal series of slender oblique lamellae, besides the prominent tooth-like 

 plates of the margins, of which there are 33 on the upper and about 40 on the 

 lower mandible, on each side. Tongue 1^ inches long, and of the same form 

 as in the other species. Oesophagus 1\ inches long, 1 inch in width in the 

 greater part of its extent, 1 inch 2 twelfths within the thorax. The stomach 

 is a gizzard of moderate strength, lj inches long, 1^ inches in breadth; its 

 lateral muscles large, being 7 twelfths in thickness; the epithelium dense, 

 tough, and forming two flat grinding surfaces. The proventricular glands 

 are very small, forming a belt 14 inches in breadth. The intestine is 51 

 inches long, its width from 3^ twelfths to 2% twelfths; the coeca 9 twelfths 

 long, 2 twelfths wide, 3 inches from the extremity; the rectum 5 twelfths 

 wide, forming at the end a globular cloaca, 1 inch in width. Lobes of the 

 liver nearly equal, 2i inches in length; gall-bladder ^ inch long. 



Trachea 6i inches long, much flattened, for 3 inches diminishing from 3|- 

 twelfths to 2\ twelfths, then enlarging to 4^ twelfths; from this place to the 

 tympanum it is of a trigonal form, with an acute carnia anteriorly, and the 

 rings are widely separated. There are 102 rings, besides 8 which are united 

 and form part of the tympanum, which is of an irregular form, projecting 

 anteriorly with a rounded bulge, and dilated on the left side, its greatest 

 breadth 9 twelfths. The bronchi are of moderate length, the left with 32, 

 the right with 26 half rings. The muscles as in the other species; the 

 contractor muscles exceedingly large at the upper part. 



Mergcs cucdllatus, Bonap. Syn., p. 397. 



Hooded Merganser, Mergus cucullatus, Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. viii. p. 79. 



