240 
MERGUS MERGANSER. 
the whole of my examinations and dissections of the 
present species, I have never yet found the female in 
his dress. What I consider as undoubtedly the true 
female of this species is described at page 243. They were 
both shot in the month of April, in the same creek, 
unaccompanied by any other ; and, on examination, the 
sexual parts of each were strongly and prominently 
marked. The windpipe of the female had nothing 
remarkable in it ; that of the male had two very large 
expansions, which have been briefly described by 
Willoughby, who says : “ It hath a large bony labyrinth 
on the windpipe, just above the divarications ; and the 
windpipe hath, besides, two swellings out, one above 
another, each resembling a powder puff.” These laby- 
rinths are the distinguishing characters of the males ; 
and are always found, even in young males who have 
not yet thrown off the plumage of the female, as well 
as in the old ones. If we admit these dun divers to be 
a distinct species, we can find no difference between 
their pretended females and those of the goosander, 
only one kind of female of this sort being known ; and 
this is contrary to the usual analogy of the other three 
species, viz. the red-breasted merganser, the hooded, and 
the smew, all of whose females are well known, and bear 
the same comparative resemblance in colour to their 
respective males, the length of crest excepted, as the 
female goosander we are about to describe bears to him. 
Having thought thus much necessary on this disputed 
point, I leave each to form his own opinion on the facts 
and reasoning produced. 
[*The goosander is a broad, long-bodied, and flat- 
backed bird. It is a great diver, and remains under 
water for a considerable time. It is very shy, and hard 
to be obtained, unless there is ice in the river, at which 
time it may be approached by stratagem, the shooter 
and his boat being clothed in white, so as to resemble 
* From this to the end of the article, marked off with brackets, 
is an addition to Wilson’s description by Mr Ord. The articles, 
Gray Phalarope (p. 132,) and Laughing Gull (p. 161,) are also 
Mr Ord’s. 
