144 ANATID.E 



into vast assemblages around our coasts, darken the waters 

 for miles around. Off the east side of England this Duck 

 is so abundant that its numbers, thickly scattered over 

 the open sea, appear almost countless. In spring, about 

 April, Scoters leave our seas for more northern latitudes, 

 though a few immature birds remain along our coasts 

 throughout the summer. In Dublin Bay I have seen 

 Scoters and Shags together on the water, and the manner 

 in which the two species descend offers an interesting 

 contrast. The Shag, slightly raising itself out of the water, 

 takes a distinct ' header ' ; the Scoter disappears without 

 warning or splash, as though it were suddenly gripped 

 from beneath and pulled under water. Scoters dive rather 

 obliquely, and travelling under the surface, generally re- 

 appear some distance from where they first descend. 

 They are fast swimmers, and may be seen, especially in 

 the early spring, cruising on the water with their heads 

 and necks stretched out, after the fashion of Shovelers. 

 Scoters, like other Diving Ducks, constantly raise them- 

 selves upright on the water and flap their wings, thereby 

 arranging their feathers and dislodging drops of water 

 which have remained among them after diving. In a vast 

 company of these birds it is most entertaining to watch 

 several of them suddenly rising up and flapping like so 

 many * Jack-in-the-Boxes.' Unlike most Diving Ducks, the 

 Scoter floats comparatively high on the water, at times 

 cresting the rough billows with considerable buoyancy. It 

 seldom leaves the open sea even in rough weather, but after 

 a furious gale it is occasionally found near land, dead, or 

 in an exhausted condition. Lord Ventry has picked up near 

 Inch Point, co. Kerry, " water-soaked and storm-driven 

 Scoters scarcely able to breathe" (Payne-Gall wey, 'Fowler 

 in Ireland,' p. 110). 



Watters mentions that "on two occasions this Scoter 

 has been shot whilst apparently searching for food along 

 the bottom of wet ditches and open drains" ('Birds of 

 Ireland/ p. 213). A few instances of the occurrence of this 

 species away from the tide have been recorded, viz., in Wilt- 

 shire (twenty miles inland), Oxford, and Windermere. It 

 has also visited several Irish rivers, as the Liffey, Suir, 

 Shannon, and Blackwater, also Lough Neagh. 



Food. The Scoter subsists mainly on shell-fish, often 

 obtained at a depth of several fathoms. 



In countries where this bird is eaten, numbers are caught 



