Part 144

Goosander, Mergus Merganser, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 460.

Goosander, Mergus Merganser, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iv. p. 261.

413. 2. Mergus Serrator, Linn. Red-breasted Merganser.

Plate CCCCI. Male and Female.

Male with an elongated longitudinal double crest, eighteen tail-feathers, bill and feet deep carmine; head and upper part of neck glossy greenish-black, with bright green reflections along the sides, and purplish on the crest; a broad collar of white, succeeded by another of light brownish-red, longitudinally streaked with dusky; lower parts white, except the sides of the body and rump, which are transversely undulated with greyish-black, and the larger wing-coverts, which are ash-grey; fore part of back, and inner scapulars deep black; feathers anterior to the wing white, with a broad margin of black; some of the anterior wing-coverts ash-grey, the rest, the outer scapulars, and the terminal half of the secondary coverts, pure white; basal portion of the latter, primary coverts, and primary quills, black, the latter tinged with brownish-grey; secondaries white, with the base and the outer margin of most black, which colour predominates on the inner; middle and hind part of back ash-grey, undulated with white and dusky; tail brownish-grey. Female with crest shorter, the bill and feet paler; head and fore part of neck light reddish-brown; throat and under part white, excepting the sides and larger wing-coverts, which are brownish-grey; hind neck, back, tail-coverts, tail, scapulars, and wing-coverts brownish-grey; wings greyish-black, with a large white patch, formed by the terminal portions of the secondary coverts, and the greater part of some of the outer secondaries. Young, when fledged, resemble the female. Young, in down, with the head and hind neck reddish-brown, the back greyish-brown, with three white spots on each side, the lower parts greyish-white; a white band from the bill to the eye, a reddish-brown band under the eye, and along the side of the neck; the lower parts greyish-white.

Male, 24-1/2, 33. Female, 24, 34-1/2.

From Texas westward to the Columbia River and northward. Common during autumn and spring. Also throughout the United States, and along the Atlantic shores. Breeds from New York to Labrador and the Fur Countries, as well as along the Great Lakes, and on the Rocky Mountains.

Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus Serrator, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 91.

Mergus Serrator, Bonap. Syn. p. 397.

Mergus Serrator, Red-breasted Merganser, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 462.

Red-breasted Merganser, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 463.

Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus Serrator, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. v. p. 92.

414. 3. Mergus cucullatus, Linn. Hooded Merganser.

Plate CCXXXIII. Male and Female.

Male with an elongated, compressed, rounded crest, the tail with eighteen feathers; bill black, feet yellowish-brown; upper part of the head, back, smaller wing-coverts, quills, and tail brownish-black; sides of the head, upper half of neck all round, the broad extremities of the large feathers on the shoulders, the scapulars, inner secondaries, and larger wing-coverts, greenish-black; a broad patch of white behind the eye, very conspicuous in the erected crest; lower part of neck and breast also white, as are the speculum and the central part of the inner secondaries; sides beautifully marked with undulated transverse lines of yellowish-brown and brownish-black; lower tail-coverts whitish, similarly undulated. Female much smaller, with the crest less elongated, and of looser texture; bill brownish-black, towards the base orange; upper part of head, including the crest, yellowish-brown; chin whitish; upper part of neck all round, and sides of head greyish-brown; general colour of the back, upper surface of wings, tail, and sides, blackish-brown, the feathers edged with paler. Young, when fledged, like the female, but with the crest shorter.

Male, 19, 26. Female, 17-1/2, 24.

Breeds sparingly in South Carolina, along the Mississippi, Ohio, and the Great Lakes, as well as further northward. Abundant, during autumn and winter, on all the western and southern waters; rarer in the Middle Atlantic Districts.

Mergus cucullatus, Bonap. Syn. p. 397.

Hooded Merganser, Mergus cucullatus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 79.

Mergus cucullatus, Hooded Merganser, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 463.

Hooded Merganser, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 465.

Hooded Merganser, Mergus cucullatus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 246; v. v. p. 619.

415. 4. Mergus Albellus, Linn. White Merganser.--Smew. White Nun.

Plate CCCXLVII. Male and Female.

Male with a longitudinal crest; tail graduated, of sixteen feathers; bill black, feet livid blue; head, neck, lower parts, scapulars, and a patch on the wing, white; a short band on each side of the hind neck bordering the crest, duck-green; a broad patch on the lore and below the eye, a narrow band across the lower part of the hind neck, formed by single bars near the tips of the feathers, the middle of the back in nearly its whole length, a short transverse bar under the fore edge of the wing, the anterior margin to beyond the carpal joint, the outer edge of the scapulars, the primary coverts, secondary coverts, and outer secondary quills, excepting the tip of both, deep black; quills also black, of a less deep tint; hind part of back tinged with grey; rump and tail-feathers dusky grey; sides of body and rump white, finely undulated with blackish-grey. Female much smaller, similarly crested; all the lower parts white, excepting a belt across the lower fore part of the neck, and a narrow portion of the sides, which are pale grey; a patch of brownish-black on the lore and beneath the eye; upper part of head and half of hind neck light reddish-brown; the rest of hind neck and all the upper parts bluish-grey, darker behind, and in the middle of the back approaching to black; tail dusky grey; wings, bill, and feet as in the male.

Male, 17-1/2, 27. Female, 15-1/2, 25.

Exceedingly rare in America, one specimen only having been procured at New Orleans.

Smew or White Nun, Mergus Albellus, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. viii. p. 126.