VELVET SCOTER. 481 



able while flying, and in some seasons it is fairly abundant 

 near the "scars," or at the Teesmouth ; the largest number 

 seen at one time was a flock of some thirty birds, at Christmas 

 1895, inside Redcar rocks. 



At high tide it feeds upon the small mussels on the rocks, 

 departing to the open water with the ebb, and here I must 

 traverse the late J. Cordeaux's statement in his " List of 

 Birds of the Humber District " (p. 25), where he stated 

 " it does not approach the shore so closely as the Common 

 Scoter." My experience differs from his, and tends to prove 

 that it is frequently found much closer inshore than the 

 other ; so recently as November 1903, I observed three fly 

 along behind the breakers and settle almost within stone's 

 throw of the beach, where I afterwards procured two of them ; 

 whilst twice I have seen individuals actually shot on the 

 sands. Several times I have rowed within range of small 

 parties of these ducks on the open sea, and on one occasion 

 four were killed out of a flock of about thirty, which allowed 

 a quite near approach ; nor is this so unusual as appears 

 to be the opinion of some authors of ornithological works. 



The adult drake of this species is very rare ; only three 

 examples have come under my notice at Redcar, two of 

 them being found dead on the beach in March 1888, while 

 the third was reported in October 1896. The late A. Roberts 

 of Scarborough had four brought to him in the winter of 

 1854-55 ; one was recorded at Spurn in October 1876, and 

 another, in the York Museum, was obtained at Goole in 

 January 1893. 



The Velvet Scoter seldom occurs on inland waters ; 

 Hugh Reid stated that it visited the Doncaster Carrs ; it is 

 enumerated in Fothergill's Wensleydale list of 1823, and 

 Barker's " Three Days of Wensleydale " (1854) ; one was 

 taken at Clapham in 1841 ; Allis mentioned it in his Report ; 

 Waterton recorded it from Walton Park ; T. Lister reported 

 it from Barnsley in December 1872 ; W. Talbot (" Birds of 

 Wakefield," 1876), noted it on Hiendley Reservoir ; and Mr. 

 J. H. Gurney examined a specimen killed on the Tees at 

 Cotherstone " forty years ago " (" Upper Teesdale," 1896). 



