222 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The American scoter which is known on Long Island as the Black 

 coot, Whistling coot, or Yellow-billed coot is a common winter visitor on 

 the coast, arriving from the north about the 15th of October, but sometimes 

 as early as the 21st of September, and returning from the nth to the 25th 

 of April. At times it is abundant on the Hudson, according to Dr. Mearns, 

 and is a common fall migrant on Lakes Erie, Ontario and Champlain. 

 On the smaller rivers and lakes, however, it is little known, and the males 

 in adixlt plumage are scarceh' ever procured except along the coast. Mr 

 James Savage refers to the great flights on Lake Erie as follows: "This 

 species and the next are abundant on Lake Erie in October. A few sometimes 

 arrive before September ist, but the first big flight usually takes place the 

 last week in September. They occur in large flocks, decoy easily and are 

 killed in great numbers even though not desirable for the table. At the 

 beginning of the flight last fall (1899) one gunner whom I know, killed 

 109 in one forenoon and quit because he had no more ammunition. The big 

 flight of scoters this fall (1900) occurred on October 9th. On that day 

 two men in a boat came in at the foot of Michigan street with 156. On the 

 same day two brothers, friends of mine, shot 175 on Lake Erie near Angola, 

 Erie CO." 



This scoter has the same habits as the following species and like them 

 breeds in Labrador and the interior of arctic America, wintering on the 

 Great Lakes and along the Atlantic coast from the Gulf of St Lawrence 

 to South Carolina and rarely farther. 



Oidemia deglandi Bonaparte 

 White-winged Scoter 



Plate 20 



Oidemia deglandi Bonaparte. Rev. Crit. de I'Orn. Europ. de Dr Degl. 1850. 



p. 108. 

 Fuligula fusca DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 337 

 Oidemia deglandi A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 165 



deglan'di, to C. G. Degland 



Description. Feathering advancing about as far on the forehead as on 

 the lores ; sides of upper mandible sunken at the base ; lores separated from 



