anatida:. 



467 



THE VELVET-SCOTER. 



CEdemia fusca (Linnceus). 



The Velvet-Scoter, easily distinguished from the preceding species 

 by its larger size and the conspicuous white band on the wing, is 

 far less numerous on our coasts in autumn and winter ; but Mr. 

 Cordeaux has observed that in Lynn and Boston ' deeps ' a pair or 

 two are found associating with almost every flock of Common 

 Scoters, and I have noticed the same off Southport in Lancashire. 

 Along the south of England it is not infrequent, though never very 

 plentiful, while it seems to be rare in the west and in Wales ; occa- 

 sionally it visits inland waters. It is of irregular occurrence in 

 winter off Northumberland, and there, as well as in the Firth of 

 Forth and St. Andrews Bay, non-breeding birds have been observed 

 throughout the summer. As a rule the Velvet Scoter is more 

 abundant on the east side of Scotland than on the west, and it is 

 common in some of the Orkneys ; yet it is an unusual visitor to 

 the Shetlands, while it is rare in the Hebrides. There is some slight 

 evidence that a few pairs have bred in parts of the northern High- 



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