BRITISH BIRDS. 
252 
OF THE MERGUS. 
Birds of this genus have roundifh flender tills j 
furnilhed at the end with a hard, horny, crooked 
nail ; edges of the mandibles very fliarply toothed, 
or ferrated; noftrils fmall, fubovated and placed 
near the middle of the bill: tongue rough, with 
hard indented papillae turned backward : legs Ihort ; 
feet webbed ; toes long, and the outer ones about 
the fame length as the middle : the head is fmall, 
but the quantity of foft filky feathers with which it 
is furnilhed, and which they can briflle up from 
the nape of the neck to the brow, gives it a 
) large appearance. They are a broad, long-bodied, 
and flat-backed kind of birds, and fwim very fquatly 
on the water, the body feeming nearly fubmerged, 
with only the head and neck clearly feen. They 
are excellent divers, remaining a long while under 
water, and getting to a great diflance before they 
appear again. They fly near the furface of the wa- 
ter, and, notwithftanding the fhortnefs of their 
wings, with great fwiftnefs, though feldom to any 
great diflance. They devour a large quantity of 
fifli ; and their pointed, fharp-toothed, and hooked 
bills, are well calculated for holding fafl their llip- 
pery prey, none of which, when once within theii* 
gripe, can efcape. 
