ALLEN'S NATURALIST'S LIBRARY. 



Kange outside the British Islands. A circumpolar species, ac- 

 cording to Count Salvador!, who observes that he is unable to 

 distinguish the American Scaup or the Chinese Scaup from 

 the European species. It breeds in Scandinavia up to 70 

 N. lat. and above the limits of forest-growth across Northern 

 Asia to Kamtchatka, and again above 50 N. lat. of North 

 America. In other parts of its range it occurs only in winter, 

 when it visits the Mediterranean and extends into North- 

 western India, as well as to Japan, China, and Formosa. In 

 North America it wanders south in winter and reaches Mexico 

 and the West Indian Islands. Fuligula affinis of North 

 America has also been recorded as British, as also F. collaris, 

 but only from specimens in Leadenhall Market, and these re- 

 cords have been ignored by Mr. Howard Saunders and recent 

 writers. 



Habits. The Scaup is principally a maritime Duck, excepting 

 during the breeding-season, when it retires inland to nest. 

 From Mr. Seebohm's notes on the habits of the species, I ex- 

 tract the following, as no one has had better opportunities for 

 observing the species in a wild state: "The Scaup is most 

 active when the sun shines from the north ; that seems to be 

 its favourite feeding-time ; and then its loud, harsh scream may 

 be heard as the drake calls to his mate to leave her eggs covered 

 warmly up in a blanket of down, and to come away from her 

 snug nest among the bilberries on the adjacent bank-side and 

 join him on the lake, or perhaps have a swing down the river 

 to the delta to pick up anything that may be left on the 

 strand at low tide. Of all the cries of the Ducks that have 

 come under my notice, I think that of the Scaup is the 

 most discordant. None of them are very musical, perhaps, 

 but if you imagine a man with an exceptionally harsh, hoarse 

 voice, screaming out the word scaup at the top of his voice, 

 some idea of the note of this Duck may be formed. It is said 

 that when this harsh note is uttered the opening of the bill is 

 accompanied with a peculiar toss of the head. The ordinary 

 alarm-note during flight is a grating sound like that made by 

 the Tufted Duck. 



"The Scaup is a very gregarious and sociable bird. In 

 winter it is almost always seen in flocks, frequently associated 

 with other Ducks, and in summer small parties are constantly 



