406 THE HOODED MERGANSER. 



Mergus cucullatds, Hooded Merganser, Swains, and Rich. F. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 



463. 

 Hooded Merganser, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 465. 

 Hooded Merganser, Mergus cucullatus, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 246; vol. iv. p. 619. 



Male, 19, 26. Female, 17|, 24. 



Breeds sparingly in South Carolina, along the Mississippi, Ohio, and the 

 Great Lakes, as well as farther northward. Abundant, during autumn and 

 winter, on all the western and southern waters; rarer in the Middle Atlantic 

 Districts. 



Adult Male. 



Bill about the length of the head, straight, somewhat cylindrical, deeper 

 than broad at the base. Upper mandible with the dorsal outline sloping 

 gently to the middle, then straight, along the unguis curved, the ridge broad 

 at the base, then convex, the sides sloping at the base, convex towards the 

 end, the edges serrated beneath, with twenty-five tooth-like lamellae directed 

 backwards, the unguis oblong, much curved, rounded at the end. Nasal 

 groove oblong, sub-basal, filled by a soft membrane; nostrils linear-elliptical, 

 sub-medial, direct, pervious. Lower mandible with the angle very narrow 

 and extended to the roundish unguis, the sides rounded, with a long narrow 

 groove, the edges with about twenty-five lamellae. 



Head of moderate size, compressed, oblong. Neck rather short, body full 

 and depressed. Wings small. Feet placed far behind, extremely short; 

 tibia bare for a short space above the joint; tarsus extremely short, com- 

 pressed, anteriorly covered with scutella, and another row on the lower half 

 externally, the sides reticulate. Hind toe very small, with an inferior free 

 membrane; anterior toes double the length of the tarsus; second shorter 

 than fourth, which is nearly as long as the third, all connected by reticulated 

 webs, of which the outer is deeply cut; the outer toe slightly margined, the 

 inner with a broad marginal membrane. Claws short, considerably curved, 

 compressed, acute, that of the middle toe with a thin inner edge. 



Plumage on the upper parts strong and imbricated, on the lower blended 

 and glossed; on the head and neck soft and blended, the feathers of the 

 upper part of the head elongated and capable of being erected into a long 

 compressed rounded crest, those of the shoulders very broad and elongated. 

 Wings very short, small, curved, and pointed; primaries narrow, tapering, 

 the first scarcely shorter than second, the rest rapidly graduated; secondaries 

 short, narrow, rounded, the inner elongated and tapering. Tail '^fhort, 

 graduated, of sixteen rounded feathers. 



Bill black. Iris yellow. Feet yellowish-brown; claws dusky. Upper 

 part of the head, back, smaller wing-coverts, quills and tail, brownish-black; 

 sides of the head, upper half of the neck all round, the broad extremities of 



