THE GOOSANDER OR MERGANSER. 301 
the south. Throughout the temperate zone of North America 
it occurs similarly, wintering as far south as Northern Mexico 
and California, and breeding northwards to places little south 
of the Arctic Circle. 
Broadly speaking its range is the temperate zone of the 
Northern Hemisphere, 
IN THE Himalayas you meet with the Merganser at all seasons ; 
in summer in the higher valleys and fresh-water lakes, at 10,000 
feet elevation and upwards; in winter in the low river valleys at 
elevations of 700 to 2,000 feet ; and in spring and autumn at 
intermediate elevations. Outside these mountains you seldom, 
if ever, see them before December or later than March. You 
meet them most commonly, I think, in small parties of seven to 
twenty ; but I have seen single birds at times, not unfrequently 
pairs, and twice large flocks. 
_ As far as I can judge they almost sxclne uel frequent rivers 
or lakes, carrying a good head of water, and with more or less 
rocky, pebbly, or coarse sandy bottoms. T have never yet seen 
one in any river where it flowed through clay, mud, or alluvial 
soil. I have never myself seen them in any lake, but they do 
occur in such, and out at sea, on rocky coasts—further out, or 
closer in, according to the weather. 
On rivers, as on the Ganges above Hurdwar, they will float 
down with the stream for a couple of miles, and if not hungry, 
‘they rise and fly back again ; but more commonly they fish their 
way back, diving incessantly the whole way ; and despite their 
activity, taking a long time to make their way back to where 
they started from. When gorged they often sit on some rock 
in the middle of the water, sitting very upright and Cormorant- 
like, often half-opening their wings to the sun. In the interior, 
where you find them in smaller streams, they are rarely in parties 
of more than three or four—most generally at that time in 
pairs—and then they are either flying up stream, or floating down, 
twisting round and round in the rapids, or fishing vigorously in 
some deep pool near the foot of some waterfall or rapid. 
When floating down stream they are often nearly as high out 
of the water as a common duck; but when swimming—and 
especially swimming against stream—they sit very deep in the 
water much like Cormorants; and if wounded and pursued, 
never raise more than the head and neck above the surface. 
They are famous divers, quite Cormorant-like in this matter, 
though I think hardly so agile asthe Smew. On land one 
only sees them resting near the water’s edge, and when 
disturbed they shuffle on their breasts into the river. I do not 
think that they can walk at all. Anyhow I have always seen 
them just half-glide, half-wriggle, breast foremost, and I think 
touching the rock, into the water. They rise heavily from the 
water, taking many yards, during which they flap along the 
