474 anatidj:. 



Pacific it appears to be replaced by a closely-allied species, 

 (Edcmla americana, in which the entire protuberance at 

 the base of the upper mandible is orange-yellow, this colour 

 extending a little in front of the nostrils ; whereas in our 

 Scoter there is only a yellow line from the base of the bill 

 over the centre of the protuberance, and a patch of the same 

 colour from the nostrils to the lamellae of the bill, the pro- 

 tuberance itself being blackish-blue. This American species 

 is found throughout the Nearctic region. 



The nest of the Scoter is generally placed on an island in 

 a fresh-water lake, or in the bogs in the vicinity ; it is com- 

 posed of grass and moss with a lining of down, and the 

 eggs, Vt'hich are usually laid from the beginning to the 

 middle of June, are from six to nine in number, of a yellowish- 

 white colour; average measurements 2'5 by 1*8 in. The late 

 Mr. Wolley, in a letter written from Muonioniska, and quoted 

 in Hewitsou's ' Eggs of British Birds,' vol. ii. p. 422, says, 

 "If you wish to give a cockney a correct notion of the rich 

 look of a fresh Scoter's egg, you may tell him that it is like 

 a fully ripe magnum-bonum plum." 



The Scoter feeds almost exclusively on the soft bodies of 

 mussels, and the animals of other bivalve shells, which it 

 obtains by diving, and generally it approaches the shore 

 with each flood-tide for the purpose of satisfying its appe- 

 tite. The flesh of the Scoter is oily, and has a strong fishy 

 taste ; it is, in consequence, but seldom eaten in this 

 country. The call-note during the breeding- season is said 

 by Faber to resemble the syllables tii-tii, tii, tii, on the part 

 of the male, the female responding with a harsh re-re-re-re-re. 

 Like the rest of the genus, the Scoter dives remarkably well, 

 and can remain a considerable time under water. 



In the adult male the beak is black, except the central 

 ridge of the upper mandible, which is orange ; the irides 

 brown ; all the plumage deep black ; legs and toes dnsky- 

 black, the webs darker, or quite black. The whole length is 

 nineteen inches. From the carpal joint to the end of the 

 longest quill-feather nine inches ; the second quill-feather 

 rather the longest in the winef. 



