THE AMERICAN SCOTER. 8ii 



No. 327. 

 AMERICAN SCOTER. 



A. (). U. No. 163. Oidemia americana Swains. 



Synonyms. — American Black Scoter. Sea Coot. Black Coot. 



Description. — Adult male: Entire plumage black, glossy and sooty; outline 

 of feathers at base of bill not peculiar ; base of culmen (especially during breeding 

 season) swelled or knobbed. — the knob orange, the rest of the bill, including eyes, 

 black. Adult female and young: Sooty gray or fuscous whitening on belly, also 

 on throat, sides of head, and neck, where contrasting with dark fuscous of crown 

 and nape : outline of feathers at base of bill substantially as in male, but culmen 

 not gibbous. Length 18.00-22.00 (457.2-558.8) : wing q.oo (228.6) : tail 3.00 

 (76.2) ; bill (chord of culmen) 1.70 (43.2) ; tarsus 1.80 (45.7). 



Recognition Marks. — Mallard size; plumage solid black; female fuscous, 

 lightening below, and on sides of neck ; loral feathering not peculiar. 



Nesting. — Does not nest in ^^'ashington. Xest: on the ground in marshes of 

 the interior or along the sea coasts; of grasses, linerl with feathers. Eggs: 6-10, 

 pale buff or brownish buff. Av. size, 2.55 x 1.80 (64.8x45.7). 



Genera! Range. — Coasts and larger inland waters of northern .\merica ; 

 breeds in Labrador and the northern interior; south in winter to California, 

 Colorado, the Great Lakes and New Jerse}-. 



Range in Washington. — Not common winter resident and migrant on Puget 

 Sound and West Coast ; non-breeding birds resident in summer. 



Authorities.— Baird, Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv. IX. 1858. p. 808. C&S. L. Rh. 

 B. E. 



Specimens. — Prov. 



"SCAT!" sa_\"s the housewife, when pussy starts to sharpen her claws on 

 the oleander tree. "S s s s cat !" In some such way may have originated the 

 commoner name of sea-coot — a hiss to start the imeasv fowl in motion — "Ssss 

 you coot. Scoot !" whence, of course. Scooter and Scoter, the bird that scoots. 

 \\'hate\'er ]:)hilologists mav think of this deri\ation. it has at least the virtue of 

 plausibilit\', and we shall remember that those ungainly black fowls which are 

 fore\-er getting in the way of steamboats, and shuffling off with wheezy com- 

 plaint, are Scooters. Now and then, if we are watchful, we shall see a little 

 company of Black Ducks which show no trace of white either nn head or wing. 

 And if the black is black enough to assure us that we are looking at male birds, 

 and especially if we catch a glimpse of orange at the base of the upper mandi- 

 ble, we mav know that we are seeing the S(.)mewhat rare American Scoter. 

 These birds are very abundant in Alaskan waters, but tliey do not venture 

 south as often, nor in such numbers, as do tlie two succeeding species. They 

 are somewhat smaller than the other birds, but there is nothing in haBit or be- 



