Ruddy and Mountain Ducks 199 



the bill until drowned, preferring thus to die than to come to the surface to be 

 captured."- 



The European Scoter (O. nigra), found throughout the northern portions of 

 the Eastern Hemisphere, has the male uniform black, with the bill black, marked 

 with a yellow or orange spot in front of the basal knob. Similar to this, but with 

 the nail of the bill arched and strongly hooked, is the American Scoter (O. 

 americana), which ranges over much of North America, breeding in Labrador 

 and the northern interior, and migrating on the Atlantic coast as far south as 

 Virginia, on the Great Lakes, and off California. With about the same range 

 is the Surf Scoter (O. perspicillata), which may be known by the pure white patch 

 on the forehead and on the hind neck, the plumage otherwise being black. The 

 three remaining species the Velvet Scoter (O.fusca), White- winged Scoter (O. 

 deglandi), and the Kamchatkan Scoter (O. stejnegen) all have a white mark 

 on the wing and differ among themselves in only minor particulars. 



Ruddy Duck. The so-called Stiff -tailed Ducks, in which the feathers of the 

 tail are narrow and very stiff, constitute the subfamily ErismaturincB, and are 

 comprised in four genera and about a dozen species. Of these the Ruddy Duck 

 (Erismatura jamaicensis] of temperate North America may be taken as a type. 

 The male has the upper parts uniform reddish chestnut, with the top of the head 

 black and the side of the head white, while the lower parts are silvery white. 

 The female and young are grayish brown above, the plumage marked with fine 

 wavy bars of buff; the species is about fifteen inches in length. This species 

 frequents the salt ponds along the coast and is also found on the inland rivers 

 and lakes. Its food, which is said to consist mainly of aquatic plants, is obtained 

 by diving. It is usually a rather tame species, permitting the close approach of 

 a boat, and on the water it makes rather a curious appearance, as it often carries 

 the tail erect. While its main nesting ground is far north, it breeds locally 

 throughout its range, placing the nest in a marsh and usually on a floating mass 

 of vegetation. The six to ten eggs are creamy white in color. Other species 

 are found in South America, Africa, and Australia. 



Mountain Ducks. Before passing to the final subfamily we may mention 

 briefly the Mountain Ducks (Subfamily MerganettincB), so called from their 

 dwelling exclusively on the rushing mountain streams. They are medium-sized 

 or small birds with narrow compressed bills as in the Mergansers, but differ 

 from them in the absence of the tooth-like serrations on the edges of the man- 

 dibles, and in the rather long and stiff tail. Eight species are known, one in the 

 mountain streams of New Zealand and the others in the rivers of the Andes. 

 Of the New Zealand species (Hymenolcemus malacorhynchus] Buller says, "Far 

 up the mountain gorge, where the foaming torrent, walled in on both sides, rushes 

 impetuously over its shingle bed, surging around the huge water-worn boulders 

 which obstruct its course, and forming alternately shallow rapids and pools 

 of deep water, there the Mountain Duck is perfectly at home." 



The Mergansers, or Fish Ducks, comprise the remaining subfamily (Mergina) 

 of the great group of Ducks. They are fish-eating Ducks with slender bodies, long 

 Grebe-like necks, and long, narrow, compressed bills, which may be longer or 



