DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. 203 
numbers. To see such a mighty host of birds rise 
en masse from the water is a most imposing, nay, 
even a thrilling sight. The Common Scoter begins 
to arrive with us in September, and the migration 
continues right through the following month. The 
return passage begins in April and lasts into May. 
All the birds, however, do not pass northwards, for 
flocks of immature Scoters frequent British waters 
through the summer, whilst a few pairs of adults 
are even known to breed in the north of Scotland. 
The Scoter is found most abundantly off our eastern 
. coasts, from the Orkneys to the Goodwins, and 
thence, but in smaller numbers, along the English 
Channel. The western districts are not visited so 
plentifully, the flat coasts of Lancashire, the north 
of Ireland, and the Solway area being its principal 
resorts.) This ‘Scoteris) an\\adept ‘diver’; in) fact 
almost all its food is obtained in that way. Like 
the Eider the Scoter is fond of working shorewards 
with the tide, feeding as it comes, and retiring from 
the land again when its appetite is satisfied. The 
food of this Duck consists in winter chiefly 
of molluscs and crustaceans; but in summer the 
leaves, roots, and buds of aquatic plants are eaten, 
as are also insects. The Scoter flies well and 
rapidly, and is not unfrequently seen in the air, 
especially when in flocks. These sometimes circle 
and gyrate for some time after they are flushed 
before settling on the sea again. The usual note of 
the Scoter is a harsh £urr, modulated into a more 
