©: univaiak aaa i tala —_—T 
THE VELVET DUCK. 519 
Length, twenty-one and fifty one-hundredths inches; wing, eleven and thirty 
one-hundredths ; tarsus, two and eight one-hundredths ; commissure two and 
eighty-two one-hundredths inches. ; 
Hab. — Along both coasts of North America to the north. 
The Velvet Duck, or “‘ White-winged Coot,” as it is com- 
monly called on our coast, is a very abundant species, in the 
autumn and through the greater part of the winter, in 
the bays and inlets along our whole shores. It is one of the 
Sea Ducks; and, although occasionally found in small num- 
bers in the large bodies of water in the interior, it is sel- 
dom seen in large flocks in any other localities than the 
salt waters of the seacoast. There it is taken in abun-. 
dance from the first week in October until the middle of 
December. The sportsmen, with decoys made of wood, 
painted to resemble these fowls, anchor their small boats 
in localities where the Coots are known to pass; and, from 
early dawn until late in the forenoon, and from late in’ the 
afternoon until night, keep up a constant fusillade on 
the swiftly moving flocks. I have known two gunners to 
secure, in one day’s shooting, thirty pairs of these birds; 
and this large number is often exceeded. 
The “ Coots”? are hunted more for the excitement‘ of the 
thing than for the sake of their flesh ; for, living as they do, 
entirely on fish and a few mollusks, their flesh is strong 
and oily, and far from pleasant. This species breeds in 
Labrador and other northern localities. “The nests are 
placed within a few feet of the borders of small lakes, 
a mile or two distant from the sea, 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, 2? inches in length by 
1{ in breadth, and of a uniform pale-cream color tinged 
with green.” 
