Our illustration is that of a male bird. The female is a sooty brown, 

 silvery gray below ami with much white on the sides of the head. 



Immense llocks of the younjj of this species winter on San Diego Bay, 

 California. Here the adult birds are of rather rare occurrence for they are able 

 to withstand the rigors of an arctic winter and stay far to the northward where 

 they are a common resident. In the vicinity of San Uiego there was about one 

 adult to every seventy-five or one hundred juvenile birds. The former may 

 be easily distinguished by their very striking velvety black plumage, the white 

 markings on the nape and forehead standing out in bold contrast. These white 

 markings remind one of the white bull's eye on a target. Because of this 

 striking color characteristic the Surf Scoter is frequently called the Target 

 Head by the California hunters. 



They are wary birds and it is often necessary to make a long detour in 

 order to reach a spot near to a flock without attracting their attention, as they 

 ride the crest of the waves in a heavy surf. The younger birds will remain 

 in the surf so close to the shore that frequently they are cast high and dry upon 

 the beach- When this haiipens it is ver>' amusing to watch them awkwardly 

 scramble back and enter the water again. The older birds are usually much more 

 shy, remaining far out on the water where they congregate in pairs, though some- 

 times there may be six or eight together. 



As the tides enter San Diego Bay they carry in the loose seaweeds in which 

 are entangled numerous dead starfish and other forms of marine life. These form 

 the principal food not only of the Scoters, but also of all the water fowls, such as 

 other species of ducks, the cormorant, the pelican and the beautiful California 

 gull. 



The note of the Surf Scoter is to me the most pleasing of all the ducks. It is 

 a soft, mellow whistle ending in a cluck ! cluck ! 



Mr. Xelson states that the Surf Scoter appears in the vicinity of St. Michaels, 

 Alaska, about the middle of May and nests commonly in the marshes of the delta 

 of the Yukon river. It also nests in large numbers on the Atlantic coast from 

 Labrador northward. 



Dr. Coues, speaking of these birds as he observed them in Labrador, says: 

 "Thov are tough birds and remarkably tenacious of life and require a heavy charge 

 to kill them. They are known as Bottle-nosed Coots, a name given in allusion to 

 the very peculiar shape and color of the bill. 



Its nest, usually placed on grassy knolls, in fresh-water marshes near the 

 sea, is made of dried weeds and grasses and lined with the down of the bird. It 

 is evident that the female performs all the duties of incubating the eggs and carry- 

 ing for the young, for during the nesting period large flocks are observable that 

 consist entirely of males, constantly feeding in their accustomed haunts. 



This ocean duck feeds "on small mollusks and fishes, for which it dives al- 

 most constantly, both in the sandy bays and amidst the tumbling surf, sometimes 

 fishing at the depth of several fathoms and floating buoyantly among the surf of 

 the rao-ino- billows, where it seems as unconcerned as if it were on the most tran- 

 quil waters." 



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