THE SURF SCOTER. 



(Oidemia perspicillata.) 



The Surf Scoter is also known by sev 

 eral other popular names, such as the 

 Surf Duck, the Surf or Sea Coot and, not 

 infrequently, the Booby. The name Vel 

 vet Duck, though more commonly ap 

 plied to the white-winged scoter, is also 

 sometimes used to designate this species, 



This Scoter is an American species 

 and is only an accidental visitor to Euro 

 pean coasts. Its range includes the 

 "coasts and larger inland waters of north 

 ern North America ; in winter, south to 

 Florida, to the Ohio River and to San 

 Quentin Bay, Lower California." 



Our illustration is that of a male bird. 

 The female is a sooty brown, silvery gray 

 below and with much white on the sides 

 of the head. 



Immense flocks of the young of this 

 species winter on San Diego Bay, Cali 

 fornia. Here the adult birds are of rather 

 rare occurrence for they are able to with 

 stand the rigors of an arctic winter and 

 stay far to the northward where they are 

 a common resident. In the vicinity of 

 San Diego there was about one adult to 

 every seventy-five or one hundred juven 

 ile birds. The former may be easily dis 

 tinguished by their very striking velvety 

 black plumage, the white markings on 

 the nape and forehead standing out in 

 bold contrast. These white markings re 

 mind one of the white bull's eye on a tar 

 get. Because of this striking color char 

 acteristic the Surf Scoter is frequently 

 called the Target Head, by the California 

 hunters. 



They are wary birds arid it is often nec 

 essary to make a long detour in order to 

 reach a spot near to a flock, without at 

 tracting their attention, as they ride the 

 crest of the waves in a heavy surf. The 

 younger birds will remain in the surf so 

 close to the shore that frequently they are 

 cast high and dry upon the beach. When 

 this happens it is very amusing to watch 

 them awkwardly scramble back and enter 

 the water again. The older birds are us 

 ually much more shy, remaining far out 



on the water where they congregate in 

 pairs, though sometimes there may be 

 six or eight together. 



As the tides enter San Diego Bay they 

 carry in the loose seaweeds in which are 

 entangled numerous dead starfish and 

 other forms of marine life. These form 

 the principal food not only of the Scoters 

 but also of all the water fowls, such as 

 other species of ducks, the cormorant, the 

 pelican and the beautiful California gull. 



The note of the Surf Scoter is to me 

 the most pleasing of all the ducks. It is 

 a soft, mellow whistle ending in a cluck ! 

 cluck ! 



Mr. Nelson states that the Surf Scoter 

 appears in the vicinity of St. Michaels, 

 Alaska, about the middle of May and 

 nests commonly in the marshes of the 

 delta of the Yukon river. It also nests in 

 large numbers on the Atlantic coast from 

 Labrador northward. 



Dr. Cones 1 , speaking of these birds as 

 he observed them in Labrador, says, 

 "They are tough birds and remarkably 

 tenacious of life and require a heavy 

 charge to kill them. They are known as 

 Bottle-nosed Coots, a name given in allu 

 sion to the very peculiar shape and color 

 of the bill." 



Its nest, usually placed on grassy 

 knolls, in fresh-water marshes near the 

 sea, is made of dried weeds and grasses 

 and lined with the down of the bird. It 

 is evident that the female performs all the 

 duties of incubating the eggs and carry 

 ing for the young, for during the nesting 

 period large flocks are observable that 

 consist entirely of males, constantly feed 1 - 

 ing in their accustomed haunts. 



This ocean duck feeds "on small mol- 

 lusks and fishes, for which it dives almost 

 constantly, both in the sandy bays and 

 amidst the tumbling surf, sometimes fish 

 ing at the depth of several fathoms and 

 floating buoyantly among the surf of the 

 raging billows, where it seems as uncon 

 cerned as if it were on the most tranquil 

 waters." Frank M. Woodruff. 



213 



