BIEDS OF ICELAND 61 



is distinctly nasty : and as other ornithologists may like 

 to lead the same independent kind of life there, a few 

 hints may not be thrown away. When I skin a bird 

 the best parts of the remains, unless nasty, go into the 

 next stew. ISTot Scaup, though, unless there is a 

 serious dearth. 



The Scaup drake is a handsome bird, with head, neck 

 and upper breast of a shining jet black ; mantle white, 

 finely lined transversely with dark grey ; a white 

 speculum, with a black posterior margin glossed with 

 green, on the dusky wing; rest of underparts wliite ; 

 bill, legs, and feet bluish, tlie bill with a black ' nail ' 

 at the tip. Length 18 inches, wing Sh inches. The 

 female is dusky brown, has a white ring of feathers 

 round the base of the bill, dirty-white underparts, and 

 a dingy imitation on the mantle of the colours of 

 the corresponding part in the male. The Scaup is a 

 clumsy ' cob-built ' duck, quite different in figure from 

 the elegant Pintail and Wio;eon. 



The nest is placed amongst low vegetation, or 

 amongst stones even, near water, and the eggs (six 

 to ten in number) are rather more than 2^ inches long, 

 and of a dull drab in colour. 



The food at sea consists of moUusca (especially 

 mussels ; see ' mussel-scalp,' the latter being probably 

 connected with the names ' scallop ' and ' scaup '), and 

 some sea-]3lants (e.fj. Zostera). In Iceland the food 

 consists of fresh-water mollusca (Lwincea penyra, 

 Pisidium, Succinea) and a certain amount of vegetable 

 matter. The rivers and lakes of Iceland (such as are 



