THE AMERICAN SCOTER. 615 
Arctic regions; in North America casually in winter to Georgia and the Great 
Lakes. 
Range in Ohio.—Very rare winter visitor on Lake Erie—Wheaton. One 
record for the interior. 
THIS handsome species has a much wider distribution than the preceding 
form, being, in fact, circumpolar; and it is, therefore, rather more likely to 
occur on inland waters, upon those rare occasions when it ventures south at 
all. Ordinarily the Eiders spend their winters on the open sea well off shore 
and in northerly latitudes. 
There have been no records since Wheaton’s time. 
No. 304. 
AMERICAN SCOTER. 
A. O. U. No. 163. Oidemia americana Swains. 
Synonyms.—American Buack Scorer; SEA Coot; BLack Coor. 
Description.—Adult male: Entire plumage glossy, and sooty, black; outline 
of feathers at base of bill not peculiar; base of culmen (especially during breeding 
season) swelled or knobbed,—the knob orange, the rest of the bill, including eyes, 
black. Adult female and young: Sooty gray or fuscous whitening on belly, also 
on throat, sides of head, and neck, where contrasting with dark fuscous of crown 
and nape; outline of feathers at base of bill substantially as in male, but culmen 
not gibbous. Length 18.00-22.00 (457.2-558.8) ; wing 9.00 (228.6); tail 3.00 
(76.2) ; bill (chord of culmen) 1.70 (43.2) ; tarsus 1.80 (45.7). 
Recognition Marks.—Mallard size; plumage solid black; female fuscous, 
lightening below, and on sides of neck; loral feathering not peculiar. 
Nesting.—Does not nest in Oho. Nest, on the ground in marshes of the 
interior or along the sea coasts; of grasses, lined with feathers. Eggs, 6-10, pale 
buff or brownish buff. Av. size, 2.55 x 1.80 (64.8 x 45.7). 
General Range.—Coasts and larger inland waters of northern America; 
breeds in Labrador and the northern interior; south in winter to New Jersey, the 
Great Lakes, Colorado and California. 
Range in Ohio.—Casual winter visitor, chiefly on Lake Erie. Not more than 
half a dozen records. 
THE Sea Coots of this and the following species are abundant in winter 
along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and are not uncommon upon adjacent 
inland waters, especially those which afford some open spaces in winter. ‘The 
Great Lakes, however, because such open water is not guaranteed, are not 
often or largely visited during winter, nor are they patronized to any great 
extent during migrations. 
