HOODED MERGANSER. 
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wings and flanks reddish brown, beautifully crossed with parallel 
lines of black ; tail pointed, consisting of twenty feathers, of a 
sooty brown ; legs and feet flesh colored ; claws large and stout. 
The windpipe has a small labyrinth. 
The female is ratheiTess, the crest smaller and of a light rust 
or dull ferruginous color, entirely destitute of the white ; the up- 
per half of the neck a dull drab, with semicircles of lighter ; the 
white on the wings is the same as in the male ; but the tertials 
are shorter and have less white ; the back is blackish brown ; the 
rest of the plumage corresponds very nearly with the male. 
This species is peculiar to America ; is said to arrive at Hud- 
son’s Bay about the end of May ; builds close to the lakes ; the 
nest is composed of grass lined with feathers from the breast ; is 
said to lay six white eggs. The young are yellow, and fit to fly 
in July.* 
* Hutchins, as quoted by Latham. 
