280 Mackay, Hahita of f/ic Scoters. IJuly 



coast, a.s the amount of int'ormation collected each year is small 

 and the observations of different years often contradictory, owing 

 to the varying conditions of the weather which govern in a large 

 measure the movements of these bii'ds during migration. In 

 order to obtain a knowledge of the waterfowl, investigation must 

 be prosecuted during the colder months, when inclement weather 

 is Hkcly to prevail ; besides one must be a good boatman ; hence 

 the conditions for the observations as a rule are not so favorable 

 nor so agreeable as the prosecution of similar investigations re- 

 specting land birds. 



It is for these reasons that I venture to present in the following 

 pages the results of such observations as I have been able to make, 

 concerning the habits, feeding grounds, and migration of the 

 three species (known under the common name of Coot) designated 

 in the above title, with the hope that they may prove of interest. 



These Scoters are the most numerous of all the sea fowl which 

 frequent the New England coast, collecting in greater or less 

 numbers wherever their fovorite food can be procured, — the 

 black mussel {Afod/'o/a 7nodioIns)^ small sea clams {Spisztla sol- 

 idlsshna) ^ scallops {Pectoi coiicentriczis)^ and short razor-shells 

 iySiliqua costatd)^ about an inch to an inch and a half long, 

 which they obtain by diving. As an indication of how large a 

 scallop these Ducks can swallow, I may mention one taken from 

 the throat of an adult male White-winged Scoter, which was about 

 the size of a silver dollar ; it cut the skin of the neck when the 

 bird struck the beach after being shot. Alussels measvnnng two 

 and half inches by one inch have been taken from them ; but usually 

 they select sea clams and scallops varying in size from a five cent 

 nickel piece to a quarter of a dollar. They can feed in about 

 forty feet of water, but prefer less than half of that depth. As 

 these mussels are frequently difficult to detach, and the sea clam 

 lives imbedded endwise in sand at the bottom with only about 

 half an inch above the sand, the birds are not always successful 

 in obtaining them, it requiring considerable eflbrt on their part 

 to pull the mussels off', or to drag out the clams. Eight or ten of 

 these constitute a meal, but the number varies according to the 

 size. I have heard of a mussel closing on a Scoter's tongue, 

 which was nearly severed at the time the bird was shot (Muske- 

 get Island, about 1854). The fisherman frequently discover 

 beds of shell fish (scallops) by noticing where these birds con- 



