THE SMEW. 389 



and early June in Scotland ; second layings recorded as late as 

 August. Incubation. — By female only. Period about 4 weeks. 

 Single brooded. 



Food. — Mainly fish of many species (small salmon and trout, eel, 

 sand-smelt, stickleback, blenny, roach, gudgeon, plaice, dace, 

 small pike and coal-fish, etc.) ; also Crustacea (small crabs, shrimps, 

 etc.), and Millais records in summer, insects, including cockchafers, 

 larvae of dragonfly and caterpillars, as well as earthworms. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Resident, passage -migrant and 

 winter- visitor (early Sept .-end Oct. to mid-March-mid-May). 

 Breeds commonly Bute, Dumbarton, Argyll, and Tay area, and 

 northwards both on salt and fresh waters, as well as Hebrides, 

 Orkneys and Shetlands, and many parts Ireland. Elsewhere 

 common winter-visitor, chiefly coasts and infrequently inland 

 waters. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds in northern portions of Northern 

 Hemisphere (Greenland, Iceland, Faeroes, Scandinavia and north 

 Russia, south to Denmark and north-east Germany), south in winter 

 to north Africa, Black and Caspian Seas, Sind, China and Japan, 

 in America to Lower California and Florida. Casual in Bermudas, 

 Cuba, Hawaiian and Pribilof Isles, Madeira and Azores. 



MERGUS ALBELLUS 



327. Mergus albellus L.— THE SMEW. 



Mergus Albellus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 129 (1758 — Europe. 

 Restricted typical locality : Mediterranean, near Smyrna ,* from the 

 first quotation : Hasselquist's Journey, p. 268). 

 Mergus albellus Linnaeus, Yarrell, iv, p. 499 ; Saunders, p. 475. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Head, including part of 

 crest and neck all round white ; irregular patch of black glossed 

 dull green on lores encircling eye ; dark green streak on side of 

 hinder-crown, elongated feathers of which contribute to occipital 

 crest ; upper-mantle white ; semi- circular narrow black band 

 extending across mantle on to 

 breast, another in front of 

 wing ; rest of mantle black ; 

 scapulars mostly white, long 

 ones with outer webs narrowly 

 bordered black, lower scapulars 

 dark ash-grey, sometimes nar- 

 rowly edged white ; back and 

 rump black-brown, sometimes 



patch on either side of lower- The Smey , (Mergus alMlus) . Adult fe ma ie. 

 rump dark ash-brown more 



or less vermiculated ashy-white ; lower-rump and upper tail- 

 coverts dark ash-brown ; sides of body and flanks white finely 

 vermiculated dusky-brown ; remaining under-parts including 



