8 FAMILIAR WILD BIRBS. 



in his book of ^' British Birds,'"' mentions that there 

 are few ducks more exclusively marine in their habits 

 or more uniformly gregarious than the Common Scoter. 

 At their breeding grounds in the Arctic regions they 

 seldom ascend the rivers far from the ocean, or associate 

 with other ducks, except of their own class. Thus by 

 their habits as much as by their distinctive colour and 

 appearance^ they comprise one of the most sharply-marked 

 varieties of the large Duck family?) y 



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