ANATIDA, 501 
coast of Devon were in this state of moult, and had 
lost so many of their quill-feathers that they could 
not fly, and might, by hard work and perseverance, 
have been rowed down and taken alive: many, how- 
ever, in the flock could fly perfectly—every one of 
the black males: probably all those that could not 
were birds of the year. It is certainly, as Montagu 
observes, strange that these birds and some other 
Ducks should moult so many quill-feathers as to be 
incapable of flight, and what appears to me to in- 
crease this strangeness is the peculiar time at which 
they are found in this state,—immediately on their 
arrival on our coast,—and it would certainly appear 
probable that very many of them must have per- 
formed the whole or part of their migratory Journey 
by water without much help from their wings, as 
I found them in this state on the South Devon coast 
in October and November, which is about the time 
of their first arrival. 
The Scoter is a very expert diver, and will remain 
under water for a long time. A wounded bird often 
gives a hard chase, and if allowed to get to windward 
of the boat will frequently escape, especially if the 
water is a little rough, so as to increase the difficulty 
of seeing it. 
The food of the Scoter, which consists mostly of 
shell-fish, such as mussels, and other marine animals 
and insects, is mostly obtained by diving: this food 
causes the flesh to be so rank and fishy that in Roman 
