COMMON SCOTER 145 
in nets, spread over ‘mussel-beds.” The Ducks dive for 
shell-fish, and, becoming entangled in the meshes of the 
nets, are drowned. 
Voice—The voice of the male in the nesting-season 
resembles the sound tu-tu-tu-tu, the female answering 
re-re-re-re (Saunders). 
Flight.—The flight is fast, but not buoyant. 
Nest.—The Scoter builds on the ground, amid coarse 
herbage, such as heather, and usually in the vicinity of 
fresh water: an island in a lake is a favourite situation. 
The nest is composed chiefly of dry grass and is lined with 
erey down. 
The eggs, six to nine in number, are creamy-white in 
colour. Incubation begins in June. 
With the exception of a small number of birds which 
remain to breed in Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, and 
Inverness-shire, as well as in Tiree (where this Duck 
bred in 1897), we had no further evidence that it nested 
elsewhere in the British Isles until 1904, when in June and 
July of that year Major Herbert Trevelyan observed a pair 
of Scoters on one of the larger loughs in Ireland. On 
June 13th, 1905, the same observer found a female Scoter 
on her nest, under a small bush on an island. The nest 
contained eight eggs. On July Ist the female bird, and a 
brood of five young, were observed swimming on the lough. 
The nest, eggs, and young, were identified beyond a doubt 
by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe and Mr. Heatley Noble (‘ Field,’ 
July 15th, 1904; also Ussher, ‘Irish Naturalist,’ 1905, 
pe 199): 
Geographical distribution.—Abroad, the Scoter breeds in 
Northern Europe and Western Siberia, migrating in winter 
over the seas of the European Continent, travelling as far 
as the coast of North Africa, and extending along the 
Mediterranean to the coast of Palestine. Limited numbers 
appear on the large inland waters of EKurope. 
DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 
PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial.—Entire plumage, glossy- 
black, the breast and abdomen being duller than the back 
and wings. 
Adult male. post-nuptial or eclipse-——It is generally 
supposed that the adult male retains the black plumage 
throughout the summer, though some approach to the 
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