292 BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK 



of white on the hind neck. With a good glass this can be 

 seen, both when the ducks are flying and when they are 

 feeding. The female and young Surf Scoters are brown, 

 and have only indistinct white patches on the neck, and 

 are difficult to tell at a distance from the female or young 

 American Scoters, which are also brown. The latter, how- 

 ever, are rarer than the former. The White- winged Scoter 

 shows the white wing-patch in all plumages. 



White-winged Scoter. Oidemia deglandi 



22.00 



Ad. $ . — Spot below eye, and short, broad patch on wing ivhite • 

 rest of plumage black; bill with much red and orange; legs and 

 feet scarlet. Ad. 9 • — Spot behind the eye and patch on wing 

 white ; rest of upper parts sooty-brown ; under parts grayish- 

 brown; bill orange-black; legs and feet brownish-red. 



The White-winged Scoter is, perhaps, the most abundant 

 sea duck off the coast of southern New England and Long 

 Island. Its habits and field-marks have been described 

 under the preceding species. Many of our sea ducks show 

 a white wing-patch (see Whistler, p. 297, and Red-breasted 

 Merganser, p. 308), but no others have black breasts as 

 well. 



American Scoter. Oidemia americana 



19.00 



Ad. $ . — Entire plumage black ; bill black, bright orange at 

 the base, which is much swollen; legs and feet brownish-black. 

 Ad. 9- — Top of head dark brown; throat and fore neck grayish; 

 rest of plumage sooty-brown, lighter below; bill black; legs and 

 feet brown. 



The American Scoter is the least common of the three 

 Scoters ; it is also the smallest. In its habits it resembles 

 its relatives ; all three are often associated on the same 

 feeding-grounds, but generally keep in distinct flocks. The 



