ogist 
[Vol. 10-No. 10 
The Red-breasted Merganser. 
BY P. Q. KEEGAN, LL. D. 
(Hardiuicke’s Science - Gossip. ) 
About the period of the Autumnal equinox, at the time 
when the winds, let loose from their Summer-caves, sweep 
with wild and fitful fury over land and sea, then away 
among the quiet recesses of some sheltered bay there may 
frequently be discerned a most beauteous sea-bird. Arrayed 
in an apparel of the most gaudy and varied hues, with neck 
and head and movement correspondingly beautiful and 
graceful, the appearance and deportment of this bird may 
challenge universal admiration. His accomplishments, too, 
are by no means to be despised. Ilis sight is of the 
sharpest, most far-reaching description, his vigilance is in- 
defatigable, and let but pressing danger be apprehended, 
and lo ! he dives beneath the water with marvelous promp- 
titude and dexterity. Where is the sea-fowler that can 
overmatch the astuteness and agility of this beautiful bird? 
The gun is presented, and well and truly pointed ; the trig- 
ger is pulled, but ere the comparatively sluggish shot can 
reach its mark, the creature has vanished— disappeared, as 
if by magic, to nestle in the chambers of the deep, com- 
pletely out of sight and m security. 
During the dry and parching Summer season, the Red- 
breasted Merganser (for that is the name of this beauteous 
sea-bird) sojourns for the most part amid the desolate soli- 
tudes of the Arctic regions. The cares and anxieties at- 
tendant upon the breeding duties harass him then ; but let 
no one suppose that, at this time, his lot is unhappy and 
difficult to bear. Let no one think that there he encounters 
warmth or geniality of climate, no green vegetation, no 
lit skies or gleaming sea. We know that there is a 
broad space around the pole— a “thrilling region of thick 
ribbed ice” where, during certain months in Summer, the 
sun perpetually shines, his light never fades, never gives 
way to night, though sometimes it is seriously intercepted 
by fog, which, however, chiefly occurs seaward ; he careers 
all day and night in the heavens, and thereby concentrates 
such an intensity of heat upon certain sheltered portions of 
the land, that the temperature thereof frequently surpasses 
that of' the tropics. Captain Scoresby during the course of 
his survey of the eastern coast of Greenland, having landed 
one day on that desolate shore, found the temperature of a 
certain spot amongst the rocks to be 70°, and he describes 
the effects thereof as being particularly relaxing. A lavish 
and widespread vegetation too, decorates these northern 
shores from June till about September, and furnishes ample 
opportunity for the prosecution of breeding undertakings 
on the part of seabirds. In order, however, to illustrate the 
fact, that birds can nidify at a comparatively low tempera- 
ture, we may mention, that, on the 21st of June, 1853, an 
Ivory Gull ( Larus eburneus ) was found sitting upon its eggs 
in a small island to the north of Melville Sound (lat. 76°), 
when the thermometer indicated only 35° of heat. 
As soon as the breeding duties of our bird have termi- 
ted, and the new-fledged brood can provide for themselves, 
and when the terrible rigors of the Arctic Winter— the sleet 
charged blasts, the blighting fogs, the destruction of vege- 
tation, the soul-depressing silence and frigidity of all things 
— commence to be experienced, then he abandons his Sum- 
mer seat, and traveling southwards, settles in more genial 
latitudes. With strong, rapid unflagging flight, he poises in 
the air over the dreary shores of Greenland, Newfoundland, 
or Hudson’s Bay, and bidding them farewell, advances 
briskly for days and days till he lands securely in Shetland, 
in Orkney, in Sutherland, or the Hebrides, &c., and there, in 
conjunction with his “co-mates and brothers in exile,” 
forthwith commences his Winter campaign of diving, fish- 
ing, glutting, &c. 
OLOGIST. 159 
its motor and sensor nerves— that when a sea-fowler fires off 
his gun, the bird dives with incredible dexterity, disappear- 
ing from view ere the shot can reach the now deserted seat. 
The predilection of the bird for red color, however, is the 
snare which frequently proves fatal. It is recorded, that 
this Merganser exhibits a weakness for the fascinations of 
this color, and that the Swedish hunters, aware of this fact, 
frequently take advantage of it, and by wearing red clothes 
become enabled to approach much nearer, so as to direct 
their fire with more sure and deadly effect. 
The wings of the Red-breasted Merganser are only of 
moderate length (not extending to the tail),— and of moder- 
ate breadth. The body, like that of the Divers ( Colymbidce ), 
is comparatively heavy, weighing in an ordinary specimen 
about two pounds. Yet, notwithstanding the unfavorable 
circumstance, the flight of the bird is undoubtedly strong, 
swift, and remarkably well sustained. 
Now if we compare these facts with those furnish- 
ed by an inspection of the flying apparatus, of, say the 
Great Black-backed Gull ( Larus marinus ), we shall perhaps 
be able to glean some grains of ornithological truth. Have 
you ever observed the mighty sweep of this Gull’s wings ? 
They measure five feet across, and the weight of the bird 
itself is, on the average, only about three or four pounds. 
Now, if we compare these various weights and measures 
with those of the body and wings of the Red-breasted Mer- 
ganser, the important truth may flash upon us, that the 
greater the weight of the bird, the less proportionally is the 
spread of the wing necessary to sustain its body in the air. 
In the consideration of the flying capabilities of a bird, let 
us never forget the fact that, in heavy birds the motion of 
the wings in the act of flying is comparatively slow, while 
in light birds it is comparatively swift. The former circum- 
stance is illustrated in the dilatory, lazy-paced, ungainly 
flying of the Crane, the Heron, &c., the latter in the mar- 
vellous agility of wing displayed by the sylph-like Petrels, 
Skuas, Terns, &c. It seems, too, to be an indisputable 
fact, that the larger and weightier birds, when once fairly 
launched into the air, can sustain and propel themselves 
with a much less expenditure of animal energy than that 
required from the smaller and less ponderous among the 
feathered tribes. Those naturalists who have marvelled at 
the apparently excessive muscular exertion involved in the 
flight of birds, have, when the facts have been more thor- 
oughly examined and elucidated, become sensible that the 
strength of these aerial creatures is not so grievously taxed 
as they formerly supposed. 
The Red-breasted Merganser, ever beautiful and accom- 
plished, and not exhibiting any very marked or reprehensi- 
ble meddling, domineering, piratical or other objectionable 
proclivities, may be fairly ranged as regards “social posi- 
tion” on the same level with the “aristocratic” Divers. In- 
spect and feel the soft, close, blended, velvety plumage of 
this latter group of sea birds, and compare it with the hair 
of the thorough-bred horse, or even (if such be allowed) 
with the locks of the well-bred gentleman, and then de- 
clare if, as respects this important constituent of their ex- 
. ternal aspect, they are not entitled “to flourish in any so- 
ciety.” To speculate upon the social position or upon the 
respectable appearance of birds, may appear ridiculous ; but 
my observations and studies in Natural History have been 
valueless, if roughness or smoothness, coarseness or refine- 
ment in the external integuments, in the hair, nails and 
other appendages of animals, does not stand as a sign and 
index, a mark and register of something more recondite 
and fundamental, of something intimately connected with 
the most elementary organic structures, and with the ulti- 
mate fountains of animal energy. 
The following account of the specific characteristics of 
the male Red-breasted Merganser ( Mcrgus serrator ) cannot 
