COMMON SCOTEK 143 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



Adult male nuptial. Head and upper neck, glossy- white, 

 with two green patches, one on the back of the head, 

 another, smaller, in front of the eye ; chin, black ; a purplish- 

 black neck-collar is continuous with a band of the same 

 colour, which extends along the middle of the back ; wing- 

 coverts, chiefly white ; speculum, dark glossy-blue margined 

 below with white, inner secondaries and scapulars, long, 

 pointed, and decurved, edged white and blue ; primaries, 

 brown ; tail, brown ; breast and abdomen, rich reddish- 

 brown ; under tail-coverts, dark brown. 



Adult male, post-nuptial or eclipse. An eclipse plumage, 

 having a resemblance to that of the female, or of the minia- 

 ture male, is probably assumed in early autumn. 



Adult female nuptial. Dark brown, mottled with 

 reddish-buff about the neck and breast ; speculum, bluish- 

 black, bordered above and below with narrow white bands. 



Adult winter, male and female. Similar to the respec- 

 tive nuptial plumages. 



Immature, male and female. Resembles the female in 

 plumage. 



BEAK. Dark grey. 



FEET. Greyish-black. 



IRIDES. Pale brown ; lids surrounded by a black rim. 



EGGS. Greenish-grey : clutch, seven to nine. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 18 in. 



WING 8-5 



BEAK 1-5 



TARSO-METATAESUS 1*5 



EGG 2-2 x 1*6 in. 



COMMON SCOTER. (Edemia nigra (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, pi. 

 28 ; Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 449 ; Lilford, 

 * Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 55; Booth, 'Eough Notes,' 

 vol. iii, pi. 11. 



Thousands of Scoters journey southward from their 

 breeding-haunts in autumn and early winter, and, collecting 



