128 OIDEMIA. 



Nostrils elliptical, large, sub-basal. Eyes rather small. 

 Aperture of ear small. Legs very short, and placed rather 

 far behind ; tarsus very short, compressed, with small scutella. 

 Hind toe small, slender, with a pretty large membrane, con- 

 nected at the base with the bilobate marginal membrane of 

 the inner toe ; anterior toes long, the third nearly double the 

 length of the tarsus ; all scutellate ; interdigital membranes 

 full. Claws small, slightly arcuate, compressed, obtuse ; that 

 of the middle toe with the inner edge dilated. 



Plumage full, dense, and soft ; on the head and neck 

 blended and velvety ; the feathers on the other parts ovato- 

 oblong, rounded, dense, glossy. Wings rather short, convex, 

 narrow, pointed ; primaries acuminate, the first and second 

 longest ; inner secondaries oblong. Tail very short, narrow, 

 much rounded, or tapering, of fourteen or sixteen stiffish, 

 narrow, obtusely pointed feathers. 



The Scoters inhabit the open sea or estuaries during the 

 greater part of the year, feeding chiefly on bivalve shell-fish, 

 for which they dive in shallow or moderately deep water. 

 In summer they betake themselves to the arctic regions, 

 where they nestle on the shores of the sea, lakes, or marshes, 

 forming a bulky nest, lined wdth down, and laying numerous 

 white eggs. Their flight is moderately rapid, direct, and 

 performed by quick beats. They swim and dive with ease, 

 remain long under the water, are gregarious unless in the 

 breeding season, and even then the males, Avhich have left 

 the females, keep together in flocks. The males have the 

 plumage chiefly black, the bill and feet red ; but the females 

 are brow^n, and are destitute of the enlargements at the base 

 of the bill so remarkable in the males. Four species are 

 known to me, of which three occur in Britain. 



The name ought to be (Edemia, in correspondence with 

 ffidicnemus, (Edipus, and words of like derivation. 



