116 
THE HOODED MERGANSER. 
approached, the female sunk deep into the water, exhibiting only a very 
small portion of her back above the surface, and swimming with neck 
outstretched and low along the water. In endeavouring to drive the young 
to the high grounds, for the purpose of capturing them, they all dived in 
various directions, like Grebes. On conversing with an overseer, on the 
following day, he mentioned to me that he had on the previous week 
obtained several of the young in order to domesticate them, but having 
neglected to feed them on animal food they had all died. On the following 
day I met with two other broods, each of five, and was also shewn a cypress 
tree ( Cupressus disticha ) in the hollow of which a pair had been breeding 
during the present season. As far as I could learn, they breed in similar 
situations with the Summer Duck {Anas Sponsa ), although generally a little 
earlier. They were all peculiarly marked with two white spots behind the 
wings on the back. 
In an adult male, the width of the mouth is 7§ twelfths ; the palate is flat, 
as is the anterior part of the roof of the mouth, on which are two longi- 
tudinal series of slender oblique lamellae, besides the prominent tooth-like 
plates of the margins, of which there are 38 on the upper and about 40 on the 
lower mandible, on each side. Tongue I 5 inches long, and of the same form 
as in the other species. (Esophagus 7i inches long, 1 inch in width in the 
greater part of its extent, 1 inch 2 twelfths within the thorax. The stomach 
is a gizzard of moderate strength, li inches long, !■§■ inches in breadth ; its 
lateral muscles large, being 7 twelfths in thickness ; the epithelium dense, 
tough, and forming two flat grinding surfaces. The proventricular glands 
are very small, forming a belt 1^ inches in breadth. The intestine is 51 
inches long, its width from 3e twelfths to 2£ twelfths ; the cceca 9 twelfths 
long, 2 twelfths wide, 3 inches from the extremity ; the rectum 5 twelfths 
wide, forming at the end a globular cloaca, 1 inch in width. Lobes of the 
liver nearly equal, 2i inches in length ; gall-bladder i inch long. 
Tx-achea 6J inches long, much flattened, for 3 inches diminishing from 3£ 
twelfths to 2i twelfths, then enlarging to 4^ twelfths ; from this place to the 
tympanum it is of a trigonal form, with an acute carina anteriorly, and the 
rings are widely separated. There are 102 rings, besides 8 which are united 
and form part of the tympanum, which is of an irregular form, projecting 
anteriorly with a rounded bulge, and dilated on the left side, its greatest 
breadth 9 twelfths. The bronchi are of moderate length, the left with 32, 
the right with 26 half rings. The muscles as in the other species ; the 
contractor muscles exceedingly large at the upper part. 
Mergus cucullatus, Bonap. Syn., p. 397. 
Hooded Merganser, Mergus cucullatus , Wils. Amer. Orn., vol. viii. p. 79. 
