242 
TIIE HOODED GOOSANDER. 
at the advanced guard of the squadron, which is rounding the point 
at no great distance. There they glide along, and now, coming into 
shallow water, they poke their heads into it, raise them, and seem 
to look around, lest some masked battery should open upon them 
unawares. Now one has plunged with a jerk, another, one here, one 
there, and at length the whole flock. Now start up, and if you wish 
a shot run to the water's edge, and get down among the seaweed, 
behind a stone, while I from this eminence survey the submersed 
flock. How smartly they shoot along under the water, with partially 
outspread wings, some darting right forward, others wheeling or 
winding, most of them close to the sandy bottom, but a few near the 
surface. Some flounders, started by the hurricane, shoot right out 
to sea without being pursued. But there, one is up, another, and I 
must sink to repose in some hole. How prettily they rise to the 
surface ! one here, another there, a whole covey at once emerging, 
and all without the least noise or splutter ! But they are far beyond 
shot range. However, having come near the next rocky point, they 
now turn, dive in succession, and will scour the little bay until, 
arising here at hand, they will be liable to receive a salute that will 
astonish them. A whole minute has elapsed, half another ; but now 
one appears, two, many, the whole flock ; and into the midst of them 
pours the duck shot, while the noise of the explosion seems to roll 
along the hillside. In a twinkling all are down, save six that float 
on the water, four dead, one spinning round, and the other striving 
in vain to dive. In less than two minutes, they are seen emerging, 
more than a quarter of a mile out at sea, and presently again they 
are out of sight. On such occasions they seldom fly. 
Excepting the Smew, to be presently described, the 
Hooded Goosander is the handsomest of its family ; its 
glossy, greenish-black head, with a distinct triangular white 
patch, extending from the eye to the back of the semi- 
circular crest, reminds one strongly of the BufFel-headed 
Duck ; only this is a larger bird, usnally measuring about 
seventeen mches in length. From the black back, a scythe- 
shaped triangle of the same hue passes on each side far over 
the purely white breast, and another, less distinct, lower 
down. The sides are yellowish brown, finely undulated 
with black, and green reflections play about the darker 
tints of the bird, like the shimmer of sun-lighted waters. 
Very few specimens have been taken in Britain, or even in 
Europe. The bird is well known in North America. 
The Pied Smew {Mergus alhellus)^ sometimes called the 
White Nun, the Pied Diver, the Vare Widgeon. — This bird 
