BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 159 



of its breeding grounds in northeastern North America, that 

 Professor Cooke is obliged to reason, by exclusion, that as 

 we have no record of its breeding west of Hudson Bay until 

 we reach the Yukon valley, nor in Labrador south of about 

 latitude 5'2 degrees, the multitudes seen in winter on the 

 Atlantic coast must breed east of Hudson Bay, in northern 

 Ungava. As this is one of the least explored regions of the 

 world it is quite possible that vast numbers of Scoters and 

 Mergansers breed there. It breeds mainly in fresh-water 

 marshes and ponds in the north and also upon islands in the 

 sea. It is a very expert diver, and is often able to get so 

 nearly under water at the flash of a gun that the shot injures 

 it very little if at all. 



Its food consists largely of mussels, and when feeding on 

 fresh water it prefers the Unios or fresh-water clams to most 

 other foods. Thirteen Massachusetts specimens were found 

 to have eaten nearly ninety-five per cent, of mussels; the 

 remaining five per cent, of the stomach contents was composed 

 of starfish and periwinkles. It is a common belief that all 

 Scoters feed entirely upon animal food, but this is not a fact, 

 iilong the Atlantic coast they appear to subsist mostly on 

 marine animals, but, in the interior, vegetable food also is 

 taken. Mr. W. L. McAtee found the Scoters in a Wisconsin 

 lake living almost exclusively for a time on the wild celery, 

 but he does not state definitely what species of Scoter was 

 represented there. ^ 



Since the appearance of the first edition, some of my Cape 

 Cod friends have reproached me for decrying the Coot as a 

 table delicacy. I wish therefore to call attention to what ap- 

 pears in regard to the palatability of the young on page 157. 

 Perhaps there is no bird that cannot be so prepared as to be 

 eatable, but unless the Coot is treated by an adept in Coot 

 cookery, it is likely to prove a disappointment on the table. 

 I have known a part of an old Scoter not so prepared to 

 "sadden " a whole potpie. 



> McAtee, W. L.: Three Important Wild Duck Foods, Bureau of Biol. Surv., Circular No. 81. 



