OiDEMiA. BIRDS. PALMIPIDES. 119 



Leith is ?aid to have seen a pelican, of a brown colour, fly over his head in 

 the month of May at Blackheath in Kent, supposed to be the P. fuscus, an 

 American species — Moni. Supp. Orn. Diet. 



•Gen. LXXXI. OIDEMIA. Scoter.— Bill tumid at the 

 base above, 



173. O.Jiisca. Velvet Scoter, — Plumage black, with a white 



wing spot. 



Anas niger Aldrov. Will. Orn. 278 A. fusca, Linn. Syst. i. 196. Penn. 



Brit. Zool. ii. 583. Temm. Orn. ii. 855. (Trachea, Lin. Trans, iv. 

 tab. XV. f. 3-7.)_£, Velvet Duck, Double Scoter, Great Black Duck ; 

 W., Hwyad felfedog A regular winter visitant of the coast. 



Size of the domesticated drake. Bill yellow, the swellings at the base and 

 margins black, the nail red. Trides and legs red, claws and webs black. Be- 

 low the eye a white crescent. Female with the pkmiage, above, dusky ; be- 

 low, whitish. Tumour at the base of the bill less. Breeds, according to 

 Temrainck, in the Arctic Regions, but it is not mentioned by Fabiicius or 

 Sabine. 



174. O. nigra. Black Scoter. — Plumage entirely black. 



A. niger. Will. Orn. 180 A. nigra, Linn. Svst. 1. 196. Penn. Brit. 



Zool. ii. 584. Temm. Orn. ii. 853 — E, Scoter, Black Diver; W,Y 



for Hwyad ddu — A winter visitant of the coast. 



Length 22, breadth 34 inches ; weight 3 pounds. Bill black, orange in the 



middle. Irides brown, eyelids 3'ellow. Legs and feet dusky, the webs 



black. Tail of 16 pointed feat hers, cuneiform. Female inclining to dusky, 



the knob at the base indistinct. Breeding place vmknown. 



175. O. leucocepliala. White-throated Duck. — Bill blue. 

 Front, cheeks, and throat, white. 



Will. Orn. An. 36?. {Mont. Orn. Diet. Supp.) Pmm. Brit. Zool. ii. tab. 



xcviii — Anas leuc. Temm. Orn. ii. 859 Rare. 



Size of the preceding. Bill with the middle at the base hollowed. Irides 

 yellow. Feet greyish-brown. Crown, nape and lower parts of the neck, 

 black ; the front, cheeks, and throat, white. Breast, upper parts and sides 

 dark red, waved with dusky. Rump reddish-purple. Tail long, black, coni- 

 cal, with the feathers grooved. Plumage, below, reddish-white. Female., 

 with the croAvn and nape brown : throat yellowish-white : bill and legs red- 

 dish — This species seems to be confounded with the preceding. The descrip- 

 tion of the female Scotei-, by Montagu, has a reference to this species. 



As a straggler may be noticed the O. perspicillata (A. per. Temm. Orn. ii. 

 853.) It agrees with O. nigra in wanting the wing spot, and in having the 

 plumage black, but the nape and a frontal band are wlrite. The bill is yel- 

 low, with a black mark on each side, having in front a space of grey. It is 

 said by Temminck to have occurred in Orkney. 



Gen. LXXXII. SOMATERIA. Eider.— Base of the 

 bill extending up the forehead, and divided by a triangu- 

 lar projection of feathers. 



176. S. mollissima. Common Eider. — Lateral divisions of 

 the bill flattened ; bill and legs dusky green. 



