JO- 



DUCK GROUP 



and specialised feature. The ducklinj^ in down is dark brown above, 

 with the throat white and the lower surface greyish brown. In length 

 the adult drake reaches 20 inches, while it may weigh as much as 

 2 lbs. 10 oz. although the duck seldom exceeds i| lbs. 



Nesting in northern Eurojie and Asia, from Iceland and Scandi- 

 navia eastwards to the Taim\-r Peninsula of Siberia, the scoter migrates 

 southwards down the Atlantic coast in winter literally by thousands, 

 occasionally travelling as far as the Azores and the mouth of the 

 Mediterranean. It ma\- also be seen at the eastern end of the latter 

 sea, which it probably reaches from the Caspian Sea, one of its 

 favourite winter- resorts. Most of the scoters that visit the British 

 Isles are seen in autumn and winter, when they are most abundant in 

 Scotland, the east coast of England, and the north of England, keeping, 

 as a rule, well out to sea, although occasionally making their appearance 

 on land. In Scotland, however, a certain number of individuals remain 

 till the summer is jvell advanced, and there can be little doubt that the 

 species has occasionally bred in Inverness-shire and Caithness, j'oung 

 in down having been seen in the latter county ; and it is definitely 

 recorded as nesting in Ireland in 1905. Its alleged nesting in Sussex 

 is, however, not substantiated. On the . greater part of the coast 

 of Munster scoters are comparatively rare, but around the rest of 

 Ireland, more especially in the north, these birds, which are locally 

 known as black ducks, are extraordinarily abundant in winter, and 

 in places acres of water may be seen dotted over with these birds 

 and scaup-ducks. 



The scoter is unsurpassed both as a diver and a swimmer, and in 

 general is able to float on the roughest waves with a cork-like buoy- 

 ancy ; it is also a strong flier, although but an indifferent walker. Its 

 food is said to comprise vegetable matter as well as crustaceans, shell- 

 fish, etc. ; and in Dundalk Bay these birds are stated to feed largely 

 on mussels, although, as is also the case with the scaup-duck, we are 

 not told how they manage to open these bivalves. The ordinary cry 

 is a grating note, somewhat like the repetition of the syllable " kriir" 

 but in the i)airing- season the drake calls to his partner in a less 

 unmelodious manner. The nest, which is of the usual duck-type, is 

 built in a hole in the ground ; and the smooth eggs, of which there are 

 eight or nine in a clutch, are cream-coloured, with a length of from 

 2.4 to 2.7 inches. Occasionally scoters have been seen feeding in 

 shallow ditches draining into the sea. 



