184 The Water-fowl Family 



They fly low down, and as the flocks come within 

 range, often close together, affording the oppor- 

 tunity of killing several at a shot. The flight is 

 marked by a shrill whistling, and when the birds 

 are in large numbers this sound is heard a long 

 distance off. The flesh is hardly fit for the table, 

 but natives alongshore skin the young birds and 

 eat them. Under these circumstances much of 

 the fishy flavor is said to be lost. In localities 

 where scoters abound the feathers are regularly 

 saved and readily sold. 



Nelson describes a vast flock of surf ducks 

 near St. Michael extending out to sea for miles, 

 and we find them on the Atlantic Coast in con- 

 siderable numbers just before their flight north in 

 late April. The regions about Hudson Bay north 

 to the Arctic Sea, Sitka, St. Michael, and vari- 

 ous parts of the Alaskan coast are their breeding- 

 grounds. The nest is on the ground, well made 

 of grass and concealed under brush or scrub, 

 sometimes at a considerable distance from water. 

 At this time when disturbed the duck often utters 

 a guttural note. At other times the birds are 

 silent. During the period of incubation the males 

 of the different varieties of scoters moult and for 

 a time are unable to fly, in this condition, like many 

 another bird, falling victims to the natives. While 

 these species are perhaps the least interesting of 

 our wild fowl, there is a certain satisfaction in 



