The Great-billed Scoter is a rare bird in this country, the only positive evidence of its occurrence being a female, shot in the Firth of Forth, mentioned by Mr. Gould, and a recently-shot specimen sent to Mr. Bartlett for preservation, and from which Mr. Yarrell derived his description. It is, however, stated by Audubon as being abundant in winter on the eastern coast of America, as far south as the mouth of the Mississippi. In Labrador he found a female on its nest in a marsh; the nest was snugly placed amidst the tall blades of a bunch of grass, and was raised fully four inches above the roots. It was composed of withered and rotten weeds, the former being circularly arranged over the latter, producing a well-rounded cavity, six inches in diameter, and two and a half deep; the border of the inner cup being lined with down from the birds after the manner of the Eider Duck. In it lay five eggs, the smallest he had ever seen in a Duck's nest. They are equally rounded at both ends, about two inches and a half long, and an inch and five-eighths in their greatest breadth; the shell perfectly smooth, and of a uniform yellow colour. The plumage of the bird is soft, dense, and glossy; the feathers of the head and neck blended and velvety; the wings short, narrow, and pointed; the upper mandible orange red, the protuberance on each side yellowish grey; at the base is a large square patch of black, margined with orange red, with a patch of greyish white in front. * * * * * Intimately allied to the Ducks in many respects, and to the Divers and Cormorants in others, are the Mergansers, a very distinct family, characterised by a large, elongated, and depressed body; long and slender neck; oblong, compressed head, narrowing anteriorly; bill straight, narrow, and slender, sub-cylindrical outwards, wide at the base, and abruptly hooked at the tip; margins of both mandibles serrated; the teeth directed backwards. THE GOOSANDER. ENGLISH SYNONYMS.--Goosander: Montagu, Selby, Jenyns. Dun Diver: Montagu. Buff-breasted Goosander: McGillivray. Greater Goosander, Saw-bill, Jacksaw. LATIN SYNONYMS.--_Mergus merganser_: Linn., Latham, Temminck, Selby, Jenyns. _Mergus castor_: Linn., Latham. _Merganser castor_: Bonaparte, McGillivray. FRENCH SYNONYMS.--_Bieune_ of the old French. _Grand Harle_: Temminck. The Merganser (_Mergus_, from _mergere_, to submerge) is sometimes separated from the Ducks. Prince Charles Bonaparte includes in it two sub-genera, the Smew (_Mergus_) and the Merganser of Leach. The Merganser is distinguished by its slender and almost cylindrical bill, armed on the edges with points turning backwards, somewhat resembling the teeth of a saw; yet, in its general appearance, plumage, and habits, this bird bears much resemblance to the Ducks.