196 GAME BISDS OF CALIFORNIA 



American Scoter is the only one which lacks any sort of white patch on 

 its uniformly black plumage. The female and young of this species 

 can be separated from those of the White-winged Scoter by the lack 

 of white on the wing, and from the Surf Scoter by their dingy cheeks 

 and throat instead of tlie whitish-patched ones found in the latter 

 species. With specimens in hand, of any age, tlie squarely restricted 

 feathering at the base of the bill is a good distinguishing feature of 

 this species. 



In western Alaska ... a nesting site [is] chosen on the border of some 

 pond. The spot is artfully hidden in the standing grass, and the eggs, if left 

 by the parent, are carefully covered with grass and moss. As the set of eggs 

 is completed, the male gradually loses interest in the female, and soon deserts 

 her to join great flocks of his kind along the seashore, usually keeping in the 

 vicinity of a bay, inlet, or the mouth of some large stream. These flocks are 



■^617 



Fig. 27. Side of bill of male American Scoter. Natural size. 



formed early in June and continue to grow larger until the fall migration 

 occurs. ... At the Yukon mouth Dall found a nest of this species on 

 June 17. The nest contained two white and rather large eggs, and was in a 

 bunch of willows on a small island, and was well lined with dry grass, leaves, 

 moss and feathers (Nelson, 1887, p. 80). 



At St. Michael, Alaska, a set of fresh eggs was taken on August 3, 

 and a brood of downy young was obtained on September 9. 



Until the young are about half grown the female usually keeps them in 

 some large pond near the nesting place, but as August passes they gradually 

 work their way to the coast and are found, like the eiders of the same age, 

 along the reefs and about the shores of the inner bays until able to fly (Nelson, 

 1887, p. 81). 



Scoters feed almost entirely on mussels, and fishermen are said 

 sometimes to locate beds of slidlfish by searching out places where 

 Scoters congregate. The l)irds are excellent divers and can forage 

 in water forty feet in depth. "When wouiuIcmI and closely pursued, 



