. Britain's birds and their nests . n taketo the water. There they are zealously tended by theirparents for several weeks, being kept largely to theshallows at first for fear of the pike, which are alwayshungry and on the lookout for such prey. By August,however, the young Mergansers are well able to fend forthemselves, and we may then see them flying up anddown the river, or swimming and diving off shore. TheMerganser and its congeners are of necessity more dexter-ous in the water than those other diving ducks which aremerely bottom-feeders, and are not notable except onaccount of the depth t
. Britain's birds and their nests . n taketo the water. There they are zealously tended by theirparents for several weeks, being kept largely to theshallows at first for fear of the pike, which are alwayshungry and on the lookout for such prey. By August,however, the young Mergansers are well able to fend forthemselves, and we may then see them flying up anddown the river, or swimming and diving off shore. TheMerganser and its congeners are of necessity more dexter-ous in the water than those other diving ducks which aremerely bottom-feeders, and are not notable except onaccount of the depth to which they can descend and thetime they can remain under water. On land the Mer-ganser sits nearly upright. The name Shelduck issometimes popularly misapplied to this species. THE GOOSANDER (Mergus merganser). The Goosander is a larger and handsomer bird than theMerganser, and much less widely distributed in the BritishIsles. As a breeding species within our area it is con-fined to the Scottish mainland, from Deeside, Strathspey,. #,.,». W/ Plate 49. SHELD-DUCK OR SHELDRAKE—r^^rt^rVza cormita. Length, 25 in. : wing, 13 in. [Anseres : Anatidce.]S 148 BRITAIN^S BIRDS AND THEIR NESTS. 149 and the central Highlands to Sutherlandshire. The hauntsare mostly fresh water at this season, and even in winterit shows partiality for rivers and lakes, although alsofound in tidal waters. In winter it is more widelydistributed, but is infrequent in Ireland and Wales andthe south of England, and it is always rare in the out-lying Scottish isles. On the eastern side of Great Britainit is commoner than its smaller ally. This it resemblesin general and nesting habits. The eggs, from eight tothirteen in number, are of a creamy or huffish tint, and thedown is a characteristic grayish white. THE SHELD=DUCK, OR SHELDRAKE (Tadorna cornuta).Plate 49. The Sheld-Ducks are again a small group by themselves,forming, in fact, a link between the true Ducks and theGeese. They are amongst the commonest bir
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