The Common Scoter is included in Professor Ansted’s list, and marked only as occurring in Guernsey.  The Velvet Scoter is also included in Professor Ansted’s list, and marked as occurring in Guernsey; but there seems to be no other evidence of its having occurred in the Islands; and a mistake may easily have been made, however, as the Velvet Scoter occurs tolerably frequently on the south coast of Devon, though never in such numbers as the Common Scoter; it may, of course, occur in the Channel Islands occasionally.  There is no specimen of either bird in the Museum.

145.  GOOSANDER. Mergus merganser, Linnaeus.  French, “Grand Harle.”—­The Goosander is a regular and tolerably numerous visitant to all the Islands, arriving in the autumn and remaining throughout the winter.  The heavy-breaking seas of the Channel Islands do not appear to disturb the composure of these birds in the least, for once, on my voyage home on the 16th November, 1871, I saw a small flock of Goosanders off Herm, close to the steamer; they were swimming perfectly unconcerned in a heavy-breaking sea, which made the steamer very lively, dipping first one and then the other paddle-box into the water; as we got close up to them they rose, but only flew a short distance and pitched again in the white water.  They seem to me to keep the sea better than the Red-breasted Merganser—­at least, I have not seen them seek shelter so much in the different bays.

The Goosander is included in Professor Ansted’s list, but only marked as occurring in Guernsey.  There is no specimen in the Museum at present, though I think there used to be one, but I suppose it has got moth-eaten and been thrown away.

146.  RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. Mergus serrator, Linnaeus.  French, “Harle Huppe.”—­Like the Goosander, the Red-breasted Merganser is a regular and by no means uncommon autumn and winter visitant to the Channel Islands.  It seems to me, as I said before, that these birds seek the more sheltered bays during wild squally weather more than the Goosanders do; not but what they can keep the sea well even in bad weather, but I have never seen or shot the Goosander close to the shore seeking smooth water, as I have done the Red-breasted Merganser.  The greater number of Red-breasted Mergansers killed in the Channel Islands which I have seen have been either females or males that had not assumed the full adult plumage—­in fact, in that state of plumage in which they are the “Dun Diver” of Bewick; full-plumaged adult males do, however, occur as well as females and young males, or males in a state of change.

Professor Ansted includes the Red-breasted Merganser in his list, but only marks it as occurring in Guernsey.  There are two specimens in the Museum—­a male in full plumage and a female or young male.

147.  SMEW. Mergus albellus, Linnaeus.  French, “Harle piette,” “Harle etoile,” “Petit harle huppe.”—­The Smew can only be considered an occasional accidental autumnal visitant, and the few that do occur are generally either females, young males, or males still in a state of change.  I do not know of any instance in which a full-plumaged male has occurred in the Channel Islands.