VELVET SCOTER. 217 



frequents and breeds on the large lakes in the mountainous 

 districts, especially those of which the shores are flat and 

 boggy, and covered with vegetation. In Lapland it is com- 

 mon everywhere. The eggs are much sought after by the 

 Laps. These birds are also common in the Dofre Fiel, ap- 

 pearing at the latter end of May, They hatch very late, 

 seldom before the middle of July. Their nests are placed 

 on hummocks, among the willow swamps, or long grass near 

 the water. They frequent the lakes as high as the birch 

 grows. They are very shy and difficult to approach. The 

 egg of this duck, as figured by M. Thienemann, is of a bufFy 

 white colour, tinged with green ; two inches ten lines in 

 length, by one inch and ten lines in breadth. 



The Velvet Duck inhabits Russia and Siberia, and west of 

 Norway and the Faroe Islands, is found at Iceland. No 

 notice of this species occurs in the natural history returns of 

 any of the recent Arctic voyages. It is, however, abundant 

 in various parts of North America, as detailed by Mr. Au- 

 dubon, who says " those which breed at Labrador begin to 

 form their nests from the 1st to the 10th of June. The 

 nests are placed within a few feet of the borders of small 

 lakes, a mile or two distant from the sea, and usually under 

 the low boughs of the bushes, of the twigs of which, with 

 mosses and various plants matted together, they are formed. 

 They are large and almost flat, several inches thick, with 

 some feathers of the female, but no down under the eggs, 

 which are usually six in number, measuring two inches and 

 three-quarters in length, by one and seven- eighths in breadth, 

 of a uniform pale cream colour, tinged with green. The 

 males leave the females after incubation has commenced. On 

 the 28th of July I procured five young ones out of a brood 

 of six, among which, although to appearance scarcely a week 

 old, I could readily distinguish the males from the females 

 as they swam on the little pond around their mother ; the 



