The birds of this genus, though placed among the Anatidæ, or Duck tribe, are so strongly marked by the conformation of the bill that a simple examination of the head alone will enable the student to distinguish either of the species from the true Ducks already described. On the coast of Norfolk the popular name 'Smee Duck' includes several kinds of Ducks, and I presume the present species; but the bill, in the form of an elongated and almost cylindrical cone, with the edges of both mandibles furnished with saw-like teeth pointed backwards, cannot fail to distinguish the genus Mergus.
The Smew, or Smee, properly so called, is a winter visitor with us, more impatient of cold than the Duck-tribe generally, and consequently frequenting the southern more than the northern parts of the island. In open weather it resorts to our rivers and fresh-water lakes, where it feeds on small fish and other aquatic animals, which it obtains by diving. In severe frosts it either flies farther south or repairs to tidal rivers and harbours. Though not a rare bird, it is sparingly distributed. It is found on many of the continental rivers, even those which are far distant from the sea, but is not often killed, as it is shy of being approached, readily takes wing, flies swiftly, and as a diver is most rapid and expert. It is, however, little sought after, for, in spite of its relationship, its strong fishy flavour prevents it from passing muster as a Duck. Of its nesting little or nothing is known. In the north of Devon it is called, according to Montagu, 'Vare Wigeon', from the supposed resemblance of its head to that of a 'vare' or weasel. I have also heard it called the 'Weasel Duck' in Norfolk, and on the south coast the 'Weasel-headed'.
ORDER COLUMBÆ
FAMILY COLUMBIDÆ
THE WOOD PIGEON OR RING DOVE
COLUMBA PALUMBUS
Head, cheeks, neck, and upper part of the tail, bluish grey; back and wing-coverts darker; a white crescent-shaped spot on each side of the neck surrounded by scale-like feathers with green and purple reflections; primaries grey towards the base, white in the middle, and dusky towards the extremity, with the outer web white; tail barred with black at the end; abdomen whitish; bill orange, powdered with white at the base; iris light yellow; feet blood-red; claws brown. Length sixteen and a half inches. Eggs pure white.
Two hundred and fifty years ago the taste for keeping different sorts of Pigeons was as strong as it is in the present day, and the popular names of Runts, Croppers, Shakers, Carriers, Jacobins, Turbits, Barbaries, Tumblers, Horsemen, Spots, etc., modern though they may sound, were then applied to the very same varieties which are described under these names in recent Guides to the Poultry-yard. Many of these were of foreign origin, and were known at a remote period in various eastern countries, so that there can be no doubt that the custom of keeping tame Pigeons is of very ancient date.
The Pigeons in some of their habits approach the gallinaceous birds, with which accordingly they are classed. They are furnished with long and powerful wings, by help of which they can sustain a rapid and continuous flight. They seek their food mostly on the ground, but do not scratch with their feet, and are more given to bathe in water than to flutter in a bath of dust, though in this habit also they not unfrequently indulge. They are furnished, moreover, with a large crop, in which the food supplied to their young is partially macerated and reduced to a kind of pulp before the latter are fed. This process is carried on more by the agency of the receiver than of the giver, as the young birds, instead of opening their mouths and allowing the food to be dropped in, help themselves by inserting their bills into the sides of the old bird's mouth. Their mode of drinking differs from that of the true gallinaceous birds; they do not take short sips, lifting the head after every draught, but satisfy their thirst by one continuous immersion of the whole bill. They build their nests of a few sticks, and lay two white eggs.
Some of the foreign species are distinguished by their brilliant plumage. Those inhabiting Britain are unmarked by gaudy tints, but redeemed from plainness by the metallic glossy lustre of their neck feathers.