378 BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS 



ing off the reefs which fringe the coast-line. Inside 

 harbour they never go- — J only once remember seeing one 

 there : a single bird shot by my brother, but it had prob- 

 ably been "pricked." 



Scoters are resident here all the year round. Through- 

 out the whole summer, flocks of these ducks still frequent 

 their winter haunts off.the coast, though they are a northern- 

 breeding species, none ever nesting in England, though 

 they have been known to do so, exceptionally, in Scotland 

 and Ireland. 



These summer scoters are all immature, from which it 

 appears clear both that this species requires, at least, two 

 years to attain full maturity, and also that they do not 

 breed till that stage is attained. Many young drakes (of 

 the second year), shot in November, are half-changed to 

 full black plumage ; by March one meets with them almost 

 wholly black, but dull in tone, and lacking the lustre of 

 maturity. 



Abundant as these ducks are, they afford little or no 

 sport ; being equally distasteful both to eye and palate, they 

 offer no reason or excuse for pursuit after a few have been 

 obtained. In the last-named particular they are, it is true, 

 no worse than the rest of the sea-ducks ; but the others 

 have at least the charm of beautiful plumage, which is 

 wanting in these "ugly ducklings." The velvet scoter is a 

 larger and handsome species, old drakes being peculiarly 

 rich and glossy in their jet-black plumage, and are 

 easily distinguishable at any distance by the broad white 

 speculum on the wings, closely resembling an old blackcock, 

 if one could imagine such a bird far out at sea. They are 

 far less numerous than the black scoters, though a company 

 or two of half-a-dozen birds each, may generally be met 

 with in the same localities as those ducks. The velvet 



