212 THE BIRDS OF ESSEX.
Bree records that one of a pair was shot on the Stour at Nayland in Dec, 1864.
(29 Dec. 31). He adds that it is by no means common on the Essex Coast, and
that, although he had frequently met with Mergansers, this was the first he had
seen in the flesh. Mr. Buxton says (47. 99) : " A flock of fifteen in immature
plumage remained on the Basin at Wanstead for five days during the past winter
(1885)." Mr. Hope describes it as "common in the winter." Mr. C. H. B.
Croxon has one shot at Tillingham.
Red-breasted Merganser: Mergus serrator. Locally, "Saw-
bill Diver" (E.A.F.).
A not-uncommon winter visitor to our coast, and occasionally
met with inland. It breeds in Scotland and the north of Ireland,
but not in Essex,
though Mr. Fitch in-
forms me that a
pair frequented Nor-
they Island in the
summer of 1888.
Sheppard and Whitear
state (9. 59) that in
their time it was " not
uncommon on the Es-
sex coast." Mr. Clarke
mentions (24) a specimen
(formerly in the Walden
Museum) shot on the
lake at Debden Hall in
1837, and in the Collection
at Audley End is another
shot there by Charles, fifth Lord Braybrooke, in Jan., 1850. A specimen was
shot at Mersey Island in the severe winter of 1837-38 (19. 34). A male and
female were shot (23. 2775) on the Thames, near Barking, early in Jan., 1850. At
Harwich, it is very common during some winters, and in the winter of 1875-6
twelve immature females were sent from Dovercourt, one of them having killed
itself by flying against the lighthouse (Kerry—34. 4827). One was shot near Mal-
don on Jan. 12th, 1876 (29. Jan. 22), and an adult male on the beach at Walton
on Jan. 16th, 1889 (Gunn—40. xiii. 144). Mr. Hope describes it as " common
in the winter." Mr. Fitch informs me of the remarkable fact that a pair were seen
frequently round the shores of Northey Island during the summer of 1888. They
were observed constantly from the month of May until July 6th, when they were
seen for the last time by Mr. Fitch's son. These dates certainly suggest that the
pair in question may have bred, but it is almost impossible to believe that they
did so.
Smew : Mergus albellus.
An uncommon winter visitor to our coast and occasionally met
with inland. Like its congeners, it usually occurs in twos and threes.
Graves says (7. iii.) that
"in severe seasons the Smew has been taken in the nets of the fishermen in