MERGUS UMB E L LUS
MERGUS ALBELLUS.
Smew, or Nun.
Mergus albellus, Linn. Syst, Nat., tom. i. p. 209.
viinutus, Linn. ibid.
Asiaticas, S. G. Gmel. Reis., tom. ii. p. 188, t. 20.
stellatus, Briinn. Orn. Boreal., no. 98.
pannonicus, Scop. Ann., i. no. 92. Merganser stellatus, Briss. Orn., tom. vi. p. 262.
------------cristalus minor, 'Briss. Orn., tom. vi. p. 243. Mergellus albellus, Bonap. Comptes Rendus de l’Acad. des Sci., tom. vîiii. séanees des 15 et 22 Sept. 1866.
I t h i n k it was a happy sm iU e when tbi* b ird was compared with a nun; for where can we find one more chaste
in its colouring, more graceful in it* ferm ? Let us be fanciful for once at least, and consider the Smew as
the representative among bird* sH • H.i; is fair and all that is charming. Romance apart, tbw ut really one of
the prettiest, if not the most be«»tif**l, o f water-birds; to see it, however, with its plumage pure and ««sullied,
it must be viewed in a state of nature. How different is the bird when seen in our Museums! The Ui^sirruaist,
in despite o f all his care, has found it impossible to preserve more than its skin and feathers; the glory of the
bird has fled with its departed life : and this, unfortunately, is the case with all birds; for, however beautiful
their mounted skins may appear, they are but shadows o f the past. The Smew is not sufficiently common in
this country to admit o f many persons seeing it in its wild state: the British Islands are not its native home;
and its visits to us are only paid when the severities o f the winter within the arctic circle force it to seek
more genial climes. In mild winters we are scarcely favoured by it at all, and then only by young males or
females. Perchance Norway, Sweden and Denmark are ice-bound; if so, Great Britain, Holland, France,
and Spain are visited by i t ; and it is now that the males arrive. It will be useless for me to enumerate all
the places in which this bird has been killed: during the next severe winter, it would be just as likely that we
might see the Smew on one o f the long reaches o f the Thames as in the Ribble or Tamar, the Norfolk
Broads, or the Lakes of- Cumberland and Wales. The home o f the Smew, as I have before said, is
within the Arctic circle; and from thence it migrates towards the equator, some proceeding to Central
Europe, and others to India, Chiha, and Japan. But in none o f those countries W it been known
to breed; indeed, the place o f its nidification had not been recorded with any degree of certainty until the
indefatigable researches o f the late Mr. Wdlkyy placed it beyond douut; and I feel I should be wanting
in respect to that gentleman’s memory were I not to acknowledge his great sendees and sacrifices in
the cause o f ornithological science, and give some extracts from the very interesting paper on this portion
14 die bird’s economy, published by him in the first volume, o f ‘ The Ibis.’ It may not be known to many of
ictv that Mr. WoHey spent two dreary winters in Lapland, for the sole purpose o f ascertaining the
breeding-«¿wet1» tfbtamiag the eggs o f some o f our rarer birds, which nidify there early in the spring,
when travdkmg from vo sv i#imetjciilikj. Although tiw Smew one of the last with
whose nidification he bus matt**-
The delicate white plumage, {>-■ i-rv^vutw' m&riKtngw of black, is characteristic of the male alone;
for the fem&k is very dilkreriih coloured, m will be sec» on reference to the distant and reduced figure in
the accompanying Pbtf*, or i<> the detailed description of the sexes give« below It \# only during the
months o f winter and sprint: '»few tbi* yom-whtte plumage w borne : i
takes place; for as soon as the bird tot IM&mL $0h toMfrft disappear*. a**d M
that o f the female commences, and is perfect«! by th* urn* the young art: hutched : this change will even
take place with birds in captivity, as I have witnessed in ¡WHWtcs in the («ardctjs o f the Zoological Society
in Regent’s Park. The white crest is moulted, as weB as the rest o f the plumage; but no material change
occurs in the colouring o f the space before the e y e : that nearly circular patch of greenish black also
distinguishes the young males o f the year from the females, to which they assimilate in many other respects
The annexed illustration, then, depicts the bird in its full winter dress, and, with the accompaniment*, i*
intended to represent a tranquil winter scene. Neither spirit nor animation seems to possess the two males.
How different, however, are they at other times, especially just before their pairing, or when they leave for
their northern home! They then exhibit the greatest animation, stretching forward their necks, erect«*#
their crests, and swimming and circling in the water as if their bodies turned on a pivot. Hi. si* did I
the Smew during a tour through Holland; and long shall I remember it. I wtsn it were *« » y |
to give further details respecting the habits, actions, and economy of this whiter visitant to imt «