45° SCAUP-DUCK. 



elevated table-land of Central Asia diverting its line of migration to 

 the east of the meridian of Lake Baikal, whence it can be traced 

 southward to Japan, China and Formosa. Across North America, 

 from the Pacific to the Atlantic, it is distributed north of lat. 50^ in 

 summer, and down to Mexico and the West Indies in winter ; but 

 in Greenland it is of rare occurrence. There is also a smaller form 

 — of doubtful specific distinctness — known as the American or 

 Lesser Scaup, F. affinis of Eyton {F. niariloides of Vigors) ; but the 

 example figured as the above in the earlier editions of ' Yarrell,' and 

 once in the collection of the late Mr. F. Bond, appears to be a 

 hybrid between the Scaup and the Pochard, and is certainly not the 

 American bird. 



The nest is placed in rough herbage, or among stones in the 

 vicinity of water; the pale greenish-grey eggs are usually 6-1 1 

 in number, though as many as 22 have been found together, the 

 joint produce of more than one female: measurements 2*6 by 

 175 in. The note is remarkably hoarse and discordant, resembling 

 the word skai/p, and its utterance is accompanied by a peculiar toss 

 of the bird's head. The food during winter consists chiefly of 

 molluscs, small crustaceans, and sea-plants, obtained by diving 

 over beds of oysters and mussels (known as " scalp "), or from reefs 

 on which tangle grows ; the bird is therefore unpalatable to most 

 people, and, not being an object of pursuit, is, as a rule, rather 

 tame. 



The adult male has the head, neck and upper breast glossy 

 greenish-black ; mantle with fine wavy cross-lines of black and 

 white ; on the secondaries a white patch with a greenish-black 

 border ; quills, rump and tail-feathers dull brown ; belly white ; bill 

 pale greyish-blue ; nail black ; irides light yellow ; legs and toes 

 lead-blue. Length igin. ; wing 8-5 in. The female has a broad 

 white band round the base of the lead-coloured bill ; head and 

 neck sooty-black ; breast and back brown, with greyish vermicu- 

 lations ; belly dull white ; flanks and under tail-coverts mottled 

 with brown. The young drake at first resembles the female, and 

 does not attain the full glossy black head until he is more than 

 three years old. 



