180 FULIGULIN^:. OIDEMIA. 



subbasal. Eyes rather small. Aperture of ear smalL 

 Legs very short, placed rather far behind ; tarsus compressed, 

 with small scutella ; hind toe small, slender, with a pretty 

 large membrane ; anterior toes nearly double the length of 

 the tarsus ; interdigital membranes full ; claws small, slightly 

 arcuate, compressed, obtuse. Plumage full, dense, and 

 soft ; wings rather short, convex, narrow, pointed ; the first 

 and second quills longest ; inner secondaries oblong ; tail 

 very short, narrow, much rounded, or tapering, of fourteen 

 or sixteen stiffish, narrow, obtusely pointed feathers. 



The Scoters inhabit the open sea or estuaries during the 

 greater part of the year, feeding chiefly on bivalve mollus- 

 ca, for which they dive in shallow or moderately deep water. 

 In summer they betake themselves to the arctic regions, 

 where they nestle on the shores of the sea, lakes, or marshes, 

 forming a bulky nest lined with down, and laying from five 

 to eight whitish, eggs. 



255. OIDEMIA FUSCA. VELVET SCOTER. 



Male with the bill protuberant and sloping at the base 

 above, the rounded lateral protuberances partially feathered, 

 the base and margins of both mandibles black, the unguis of 

 each red, the sides of the upper orange ; inner side of the 

 tarsus and toes orpiment-orange, outer lake-red ; plumage 

 black, glossed with blue and green above ; outer secondary 

 quills, tips of their coverts, and a spot below the eye, white ; 

 tail of fourteen feathers. Female with the bill dusky, its 

 basal prominence less elevated ; the feet coloured as in the 

 male ; the plumage sooty brown, the breast and abdomen 

 paler ; outer secondaries and tips of their coverts white ; two 

 whitish spots on each side of the head. Young like the fe- 

 male. 



Male, 21, 37, 11J, H, 1H? 2 i> iV Female, 21, 36. 



The Velvet Scoters make their appearance on our coasts 

 in the end of autumn, and depart about the middle of April, 

 They frequent the estuaries and bays, and procure their food 

 by diving. They fly low, with considerable speed, swim well, 

 remain long under water, are usually gregarious, and often 

 assemble in very large flocks. It is on the eastern coasts of 

 Scotland that they are most abundant. In summer they re- 

 tire to the arctic regions to breed. The species is common 

 to both continents. 



