VELVET SCOTER. 



Oidemia fusca (Linn,). 



In the adult male the bill is much swollen near the 

 gap, but is not much elevated at the base. The general 

 color is orange or reddish, crossed on each side by a 

 diagonal black line, running from above the nostril 

 obliquely to the side of the nail. The plumage is 

 brownish-black, with a small patch behind the eyes, and 

 a white speculum on the wing. 



The female is sooty-gray, paler beneath, and with a 

 white speculum. 



The velvet scoter is scarcely to be considered an 

 American bird, being only an accidental, visitor to our 

 shores. It is an Old World species, which has, how- 

 ever, been taken in Greenland. It is not a bird to be 

 considered by the sportsmen, who will never meet 

 with it. 



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