OLD-SQUAWS, COOTS, AND EIDERS 201 



Eastern coast and to southern California on the Pacific 

 side. The bird may be identified and avoided by the 

 bill, which is bright orange on the basal half. It is 

 often called black coot, whistling coot, and has other 

 local names. 



THE VELVET SCOTER 



The velvet scoter is given in the check-list as an 

 old-world bird, which has, fortunately, only been found 

 on our shores a few times. Its general appearance is 

 velvety black ; speculum white. 



THE OLD-SQUAW 



This bird is often called "Old South Southerly," 

 from the supposed resemblance between the sounds it 

 utters and those words. I am, however, not very good 

 at discovering such resemblances, and I doubt if the 

 average observer would call the bird by that name 

 without instruction. There are, however, other in- 

 stances of birds being named from their notes the 

 kill-deer plover and the Bob-white partridge are ex- 

 amples of this style of nomenclature. This duck is also 

 often called the long-tailed duck, from its long tail, but 

 the latter term is more often applied to the fresh- 

 water sprigtail duck. 



The old-squaw inhabits North America from the 

 Arctic Sea south to the Ohio River ; specimens have 

 been seen farther south. I obtained one on the Kan- 

 kakee, in Indiana. The old-squaw does not much fre- 

 quent the western coast south of Alaska. Like the 

 coots, this bird is fond of the sea, and is often seen in 



