SURF SCOTER 149 
recorded in Britain in 1838, by Blyth. Subsequently it 
has been obtained in Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, the Scilly 
Islands, Lancashire and in Cumberland. 
In Scotland its occurrence has been repeatedly made 
known in the Orkneys, where several specimens have been 
obtained. In the Shetlands the bird has been identified, 
though not procured. It appears to have been very seldom 
met with in the Hebridean Islands, however, one was 
taken near Stornaway, in the winter of 1865 (Gray, ‘ Birds 
of the West of Scotland’). On the mainland a specimen 
was obtained from the Firth of Forth in the spring of 
1852, and another off the coast of Aberdeen in November, 
1855 (Harting, ‘ Handbook of British Birds,’ 1901, p. 463-4). 
The Surf-Scoter is a very rare visitor to Ireland; only six 
specimens have been procured. The data are as follows :— 
One, an adult male, from Belfast Bay, co. Down, September 
9th, 1846 (Thompson): preserved in the Belfast Museum. 
Another adult male from Clontarf, Dublin, October, 1880 
(Payne-Gallwey, ‘ Fowler in Ireland,’ p. 112). Another, an 
immature bird (sex doubtful), from Crookhaven Harbour, 
co. Cork, November 5th, 1888 (Barrington, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1889, 
p. 32). _ The fourth, an immature female, from Dugort, 
Achill Island, co. Mayo, October 25th, 1890 (Ussher, ‘ Birds 
of Ireland,’ p. 216). The fifth, an adult female, and the 
sixth, an adult male, were obtained in Killala Harbour, 
co. Mayo, on December 19th, 1896 and January 18th, 
1897, respectively. These specimens are preserved in the 
National Museum, Dublin (R. Warren, ‘ Field,’ May Ist, 
1897, and ‘Irish Naturalist,’ 1897, p. 59). 
It will at once be seen that the Irish records, with the 
exceptions of the first-mentioned, have taken place within 
recent years, those from Mayo being about the latest occur- 
rences known in the British Isles. This Duck can be dis- 
tinguished from the two preceding Scoters by a white patch 
on its forehead and another on the back of its neck. Its 
habits are practically similar to those of its congeners, it 
revels in the rough billows and surging foam, and may be 
seen in most unsheltered parts of the sea, during a severe 
hurricane. 
Food.—The Surf-Scoter lives almost entirely on shell- 
fish which are often procured at a considerable depth 
beneath the surface of the water. 
Flight——The flight resembles that of the preceding 
species. 
