Duck-shooting 175 



Downy young — Upper parts and breast, dark brown; lower parts, 

 lighter brown ; throat, white. 



Eggs — Six to ten in number ; ivory-white, with pinkish tinge ; and 

 measure 2.60 by 1.60 inches. 



Habitat — Occurs in summer near Newfoundland and in the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence, and breeds probably in Labrador, and from Hud- 

 son Bay north to Franklin Bay, and on the Bering Sea coast 

 of Alaska north to Kotzebue Sound, on the Aleutians, and 

 islands of Bering Sea. Winters about Newfoundland and 

 from Maine south rarely to Florida; in the interior rarely to 

 western New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, 

 Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Wyo- 

 ming, and Louisiana, occurring also in Manitoba ; on the Aleu- 

 tians, and islands in the Bering Sea, and south rarely to Santa 

 Catalina Islands, California. 



The American scoter is found throughout the 

 same ranges as the white-winged scoter and surf 

 duck, but nowhere in the same abundance. In 

 full plumage, the male of this duck is readily dis- 

 tinguished by the bright orange prominence at 

 the base of the bill. The coloring of the young 

 birds of all three varieties is more or less similar ; 

 distinction, however, can readily be made by the 

 differences in their bills. The immature birds of 

 this species are common on Long Island Sound 

 in early October, but seem to leave early. They 

 are known as little gray coots, and many are killed 

 every fall. The adult male in this locality is 

 decidedly rare. On the south shore of Long 

 Island they are more abundant and go by the 

 name of butterbill or broadbill coot. They are 

 considered good eating, although this reputation 



