THE SCOTER. 479 



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 buoy- 

 antly among the surf of the raging billows, where it seems 

 as unconcerned as if it were on the most tranquil waters." 

 In winter its dark figure is common along the whole Atlan- 

 tic Coast, it being often abundant about Long Island and 

 southward. Taking up its northern migration early in 

 spring, it breeds from Labrador northward, and also on 

 Hudson's Bay; in the latter locality, according to Mr. Jas. 

 Fortiscue, "on islands out to sea, hatching on bare rocks 

 close to water." 



Some 20 inches long and over 30 in extent, the male 

 black, brownish below; the upper part of the upper mandi- 

 ble, including the gnarl, bright orange; iris, brown; feet, 

 brownish. The female, several inches shorter than the male, 

 with scarcely anything of the gnarl at the base of the bill, 

 which is- all black, is light sooty-brown above, and brownish- 

 gray, with dusky specks, below. The nest is placed in a 

 tussock of grass, in some marsh a few miles from the sea, 

 and is made of dried weeds and grasses, the eggs being 

 some 2.30X1.60, and creamy-white. 



THE SCOTER. 



On the same day other flocks of strange, dark-colored 

 Ducks appeared. I saw them in the water more frequently 

 than in the air, and they were very expert divers. Some- 

 times the smaller flocks seemed almost to alternate with 

 the immense flocks of Red-heads, at other times they were 

 mixed in with them, so that a shot into a flock would bring 

 down both kinds. The strange kind proved to be the young 

 of the American Scoter (CEdemia americana); no mature 

 birds at any time being detected among them, I think, 



