The sexes in Swans and Geese are usually alike, though exceptions occur, as in _Chloephaga_; in Ducks the male is generally much the finer bird, and has peculiar decorations, such as the elongated scapulars and rectrices of _Harelda_ and _Dafila_; the sickle-shaped secondaries of _Eunetta_, _Heniconetta_, _Arctonetta_, and _Somateria_; the stiff feathers on the face in the last three and Camptolaemus; the curly tail of _Anas boscas_; the crest, ruff, and sail of _Aex galericulata_; or the crests of many Fuligulinae and Merginae. Some females have similar but less striking adornments. Among the many instances of fine coloration may be mentioned the Red-breasted and Emperor Geese, the Harlequin, Mandarin, Pink-headed and Shoveller Ducks, the Sheld-Drake (Fig. 34), and the Goosander; while most Swans are pure white. The blue, green, or white speculum–or wing-bar–in various Ducks adds greatly to their appearance. The young are comparatively dull, the nestlings being thickly covered with yellowish down, furnished with barbs and barbules; the colour is, however, whitish or grey {115}in Swans, and occasionally brown, blackish, or greenish elsewhere. Sub-fam. 1. _Merginae._–The commonest British species is _M. serrator_, the Red-breasted Merganser, which breeds plentifully in the Scotch Highlands and Ireland, and ranges over the northern parts of the globe, extending in winter from the Mediterranean to China, Japan, and the Bermudas. The head is glossy green-black with a long hairy crest, the neck is white with a black nuchal line, the upper parts are chiefly black, the large white wing-patch is crossed by two black bars, while white feathers edged with black adorn the sides of the breast, which is rufous with black streaks, and becomes reddish-white towards the abdomen. The female is brown, with reddish head and nearly white under surface. The bill and feet are red in this species and the next. _M. merganser_, the Goosander, nests sparingly in North Scotland, and has a similar range to the above abroad, though less abundant; it has a green-black head with little crest, a black back, almost white wings, and pinkish-white lower neck and under parts. The female has a blue-grey back, and lacks the wing-bars of the hen Merganser. The American species, with a black alar band, is separated as _M. americanus_, and the Central Asiatic form as _M. comatus_; _M. australis_, of the Auckland Islands, has a brown head and neck with long crest, a dark grey body with white bands below, a white speculum, and red-brown bill and feet; _M. brasilianus_, of Brazil, is black above with two bars on the white speculum, and white below barred with black, the bill and feet being greenish-black. The female has the crown and long occipital feathers brown. _M. albellus_, the Smew, ranging from Lapland eastward to Bering Island, but not to North America, and found in winter from Britain and the Mediterranean to North India, China, and Japan, is mainly white, with