WHITE-WINGED SCOTER 



327 



FIELD MARKS 



ON THE WATER. The largest of the scoters; both sexes appear as very 



large, black ducks with a pronounced white 

 wing-patch. They sit low on the water 

 and seem thick of body, head, and neck. 

 At close range the white eye-patch and 

 swollen bill of the male may be noticeable. 



IN FLIGHT. The white speculum will 

 always identify. When they are once under 

 way, the flight is strong, direct, and well 

 sustained, but it is laboured until momen- 

 tum has been gained. 



VOICE. A silent bird on the water; 

 but in flight it sometimes utters a bell- 

 like, low whistle in a series of six or eight 

 notes, hence the name bell-tongued coot; it also utters a short croak. 



LIFE STORY 



The White-winged Scoter is the largest and probably the most 

 plentiful of the three scoters found in North America. Due no doubt to 

 the encroachment of civilization on its breeding grounds in the interior 

 and to the droughts of recent years, its numbers have become substan- 

 tially lessened, though it still exists in such large quantities that there 

 is not the slightest fear of its extermination. The White-wing is the com- 

 monest scoter of the interior; it is also found on both the Atlantic and 

 Pacific coasts, though it is much more common in the east, where it is 

 very generally, though incorrectly, called "coot." It is closely related 

 to the European Velvet Scoter, which it resembles in both appearance 

 and habits. It is a powerful flier, a strong swimmer, and an expert diver; 

 when wounded it can swim for such long distances under water that 

 pursuit is almost useless. 



The White-winged Scoter breeds across the whole of western North 

 America, but nowhere in particular in this extensive range is it found as 

 an abundant breeder. The nests are built on the ground in a scraped-out 

 hollow, lined with sticks, leaves, rubbish and the dark grey down from 

 the mother's breast; they are usually well concealed under shrubs or 

 bushes. The number of eggs varies from 9 to 14 and the average size is 

 2.57 by 1.80 inches. The colour of the eggs is pale salmon or pinkish and 

 the shell is often finely granulated or minutely pitted. This scoter is a 

 late breeder, nesting in the latter part of June. 



"The flight of the White-winged Scoter is heavy and apparently la- 

 bored; it seems to experience considerable difficulty in lifting its heavy 

 body from the surface of the water; except when facing a strong wind, 

 it has to patter along the surface for some distance, using its feet to gain 

 momentum. But, when well under way, it is much swifter than it seems, 

 is strong, direct, and well sustained. Migrating flocks, in all sorts of 

 irregular formations, fly high under favorable circumstances; but when 



