AMONG THE WaTER Fowt 
nearly always good, though it is apt to make the sea 
rough for boats. The gunners at Cape Sable, Nova 
Scotia, think that the first day of a southerly wind 
is one of the best times. -Low temperature falee 
helps to keep the fowl on the move. The worst 
weather for a flight is a pleasant, warm day, calm or 
with an off-shore wind. The time of the day is also 
a factor. ‘The first two or three hours after dawn 
are the best. Often fowl fly well all the morning, 
but usually by noon, or at the latest the middle of 
the afternoon, the flight is about over, though 
occasional flocks may be seen till dusk. 
Under the head of the Scoters:on Coots ea. 
the gunners call them, come three different sorts. 
The Surf Scoter is the commonest. The handsome 
black male, with white on the head, is popularly 
called the ‘‘Skunk-head Coot,’’ as though it were a 
different species from its mate and young, which 
are known as the common ~— Gray ‘Coot.’ Nextam 
abundance is the ‘‘White-winged Coot,’ distin- 
guishable by its larger size and white bar on each 
wing. ‘Fhe main plumage of the male is black, 
while the females and young are of a duller, more 
rusty hue. Last, yet fairly common, is the Ameri- 
can or Black Scoter, nicknamed ‘“‘ Butter-bill Coot,” 
on account of the conspicuous patch of yellow skin 
at the base of the bill, about the color of a lump of 
butter. It is only the male that has this and is thus 
named, its whole plumage being deep black. The 
female and young are confused with those of the 
Surf Scoter under the name of “Gray Coot” ~ Phe 
best way to tell them apart—which very few gunners 
can do—is by the bill, the plumage being a good 
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