The Scaup Ducks. 335 



spicuously in the colour of the upper plum- 

 age, one having the back and scapulars 

 distinctly vermiculated with grey, and the 

 other having these same parts merely 

 speckled with white. Adult females are 

 easily separated by the amount of pale 

 coloration on or round the base of the 

 bill. In certain stages of the young plum- 

 age, the only reliable character by which 

 to separate the two species is the absence 

 or presence of a crest and possibly also 

 the colour of the tip of the upper 

 mandible. 



On the general subject of these and 

 other diving Ducks, I do not think I can 

 do better than quote Sir Ralph Payne- 

 Gallwey. He says : — " The diving Ducks, 

 as before stated, seek their food at the 

 bottom, differing in this respect from the 

 surface feeders. Their legs are placed 

 farther back, and near the tail; their 

 down and feathers are thicker and more im- 

 pervious to water, a circumstance, indeed, 

 necessitated by their habit of feeding. 

 Their bodies are rounder, their wings 

 shorter, and their flight very irregular, 

 compared with that of Geese or surface- 

 feeding Ducks. Their pinions beat faster, 

 and show that more exertion is required 

 to sustain and project their heavier bodies. 



