230 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 
(Mergus serrator.) 
Red-breasted Goosander, Sawbill. — This is a 
rather smaller bird than the last species, and is 
fonder of salt water than fresh, when winter 
drives it south to England. But it breeds more 
commonly than the Goosander on the inland lochs 
and loughs of the Highlands of Scotland and 
Ireland. The male in winter plumage is a very- 
handsome bird. The bill is red, the head and 
throat dark green, the neck white, the breast 
chestnut streaked with black, bordered at the side 
by a conspicuous patch of white feathers edged 
with black. The back and wings are mixed black 
and white, while the flanks and tail coverts are 
finely lined grey, and the belly is white. The 
females and young are chiefly reddish-brown, with 
a good deal of white upon the wing, and a whitish 
belly. The crest in both sexes is larger than that 
of the Goosander. The nest is generally very 
well concealed in heather or tussocky grass, and 
is built of dry-grass, roots, and similar materials, 
as well as the bird's own down. Six to nine is the 
usual number of the eggs ; they are a little smaller 
than the Goosander's, and pale, dull, greenish- 
brown in colour. The food is small fish, including 
