266 GOOSANDER.
a n<!St. of brood of those birds tad annually been seén near this solitary
and deluded island,''' •
Thè nude Goosanders leave the; females immediately after incubation
has commenced, and arc then seen in thes wildest part!- oi' the
•country. Several females axe often found breeding on the Sam»
island, and it is after, their young fere pretty well grown, that they
moult. For a number of yearS past, I have sometimes entertained
a hope, at the approach of the breeding season, of finding a male
Goosander bavins; his head kdoruod with a broad erectile crest, • like
that of the female and young, but I hate hitherto been disappointed,
and am thor«fnr(< unable to Kay h bother such a croît evtfe. exists in that
sex, The young of both sexes re.taib the colouring .if the female IHit
two years, during which time the malefe (¡an he distitiguishad from the
females only by their being much làrge'r. TJii nmlfts have not the
rich huify tint ,m the breast until .abo'ut two years nfttir thoy have commenced
breeding, an.l the fifst percepti||| change by which their sex
is distinguished is the appearance of black leathers 'cm the head and
nw.k. Until of late years, the I'ftmatas were thought to be of a distinct
species, to which the name of Dun Diver was given.
Many writers have said that this bird breeds in the hollows .Of
trees,, or on their bttuiches : but of the various uest's which 1 have
found, not one occurred iii slich situations : and the Hooded Murgonser
is the only sp-opies Of this gènuS which 1 have observed nestling in a'li
elevated pla<;e.
The notes of the Goosander are harsh, consisting of hoarse crbaklj,
seldom uttered unless the bird bo suddenly startled, or when courting.
The females are usually silent, but when with their young brood, and
pursued, they emit the same guttural sounds as the males. Goosanders
are easily lïaùght with hooks baited with fish ; my friend John Bachm a n
has procured them in this manner on thé: Hudson Hiver, and I also
have on the Ohio.
Along with the representation of a pair of adult birds of this species,
I have given a correct view of the CohoëS Falls n the State of
New York.
GOOSANDER. 267
' ..-«./¡»virfr, Synossia rfBirds of Unit.«! Slate», p. 397-
j t d f l X l fig.' 2. and Steams. Fauna Bor.-Ampr. vpl uf
p. 4(U. -XvlPiU, Manual, vol. ii. ;i. 460.
Adtilt Mal%;. Plate "CCeXXXKI -Fig. 1.
. •. Hill About the length ,,ftho h e « , straight, strong, tapering, high®
than broad ¿'tile base, nearly cylindrical toward the end. Upper
mandible with the dorsal outline sloping gently to the middle, then
. freight, along the unguis suddenly decurved ; the ridge hroad at thfc
base, then cdfrvS*, the sides sloping rapidly at the base, convex toward
t » end ; the edgek «rrated beneath ; the unguis oblong, much
curved, abruptly rounded at the 'eWL Natel groove elongated, nos- "
trils sunmedial, linear, direct, pervious. Lower imindible with the
angle very narrow, anil extended to the unguis, which is obovate; the
sides nearly erect in their outer half, with a long narrow groove, the
edge* serrate within.
H M rather large, cOfflpresSed, „bloiig. Weei rather short, thick.
Bodf t'cill. depressed. Feet placed far behind, short, stout; tibia bare
f o r about a quarter of aft inch ; tarsus very short, compress«!, ¡Ulteriorly
covcred with small seutella, and another row oil the lower half
" cstorniilly, the sides reticuiatch Hind "toe very small, with an inferior
fee menibrane' ;Vmtc.rior toes half as long again as the tarsus ;- second
shorter than fourth, which is almost as long as the third, all connected,
by reticulated webs, which arc deeply concave ; the filter toe slightly
margined, the inner with a broad marginal membrane. Claws rather
small, moderately arched, comp«sed, acute, that of the middle toe with
a thin inner edge.
Plumage moderately full, dense, soft, glossy. Feathers of the head
and neet silky, blended, elongated along the median line, so as to form
a not; conspicuous: crest; of the back rather compact; of the lower
parts blended. Wings short, of moderate breadth, convex, acute; primaries
narrow, tapering, the first scarcely shorter than the second, the
»St rapidly graduated • .secondaries rather short, narrow, rounded,'the
inner elongated and tapering. Tail short, much rounded, of eighteen
rather narrow rounded feathers,.
Bill bright vermilion, with the unguis black. Iris carmine. Feet
orange-red in winter; bright vermilion: in the breeding season,. Head