204 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 
musical sound by the drake during the pairing 
season. 
Even during the breeding season the Common 
Scoter does not retire far from the sea. Its favourite 
breeding grounds are by the lakes and rivers 
amongst dwarf-willow and birch-scrub, and an 
island is always preferred. The nest is a mere 
hollow in the ground, into which is collected a little 
dry herbage. This, however, is plentifully lined 
with down before the female begins to sit. The 
bird is a late breeder, the eggs not being laid much 
before the middle: of June. These» aré)ysix ira 
nine in number, grayish-buff in colour, smooth in 
texture, and with little gloss. Only one brood — 
is reared, and the female alone appears to take 
the entire duty of caring for the ducklings. . I 
should here remark that the adult male Scoter 
is uniform bright black, with the exception of an 
orange-coloured stripe—said to vary considerably in 
extent—along the central ridge of the upper 
mandible. The female is nearly uniform dark- 
brown. The Scoter is an inhabitant of Arctic 
Europe and West Siberia, visiting more southern 
latitudes in winter. 
VELVET SCOTER. 
Although this species, the /wdligula fusca of 
ornithology, is a regular winter visitor to the seas 
off the British coasts, it nowhere approaches in 
numbers the preceding species. It may be readily 
