THE OOLOGIST 



43 



gun. Suddenly he came up within five 

 rods and I slapped a load of sixes in- 

 to him before he had time to fairly 

 locate me and he was mine. 



I lost no time landing and it didn't 

 take long to disappear. It was a fine 

 male in full Spring plumage and made 

 a andsome specimen. 



R. B. Simpson, Warren, Pa. 



The Scoters of the Delaware River. 

 The status of the Scoters on the 

 Delaware River, where, according to 

 gunners, they occur in small numbers 

 annually, sometimes in small flocks, 

 from October to March and April, is 

 very imperfectly understood by local 

 ornithologists, chiefly on account of 

 the gunner's inability to discriminate 

 between the several species occurring 

 here, and the scarcity of the capture 

 of the birds, as well as their non-ap- 

 pearance in the city markets. 



These birds are indifferently called 

 by gunners. Coots, Bulleads, Tar- 

 bowls, Tar-pots, Great-heads, etc. The 

 vernacular names of Tar-pot and Tar- 

 bowl is given to these birds on ac- 

 count of their black color, but I never 

 could ascertain the reason for calling 

 them Coots, unless it is also because 

 of their dark plumage. Whenever a 

 gunner talks about bagging a Coot on 

 the river here it does not always 

 mean, however, that he has shot a 

 Scoter, as these birds (Scoters) and 

 Coots (Fulica) are indiscriminately 

 called by this (Coot) appellation; 

 thus confusing the species and render- 

 ing it a difficult matter to tell what 

 a gunner has shot. But the Coot (Ful- 

 ica) is invariably called Crow-duck 

 by gunners, as well as by other local 

 appellations, and by getting a descrip- 

 tion of the Coots (Oidemia and Fulica) 

 shot by any gunners you can always 

 find out what kind of birds he has 

 taken, but in regard to Scoters, you 



will find it impossible to identify the 

 species by the best description given 

 by a gunner, unless perhaps, it is O. 

 deglandi. 



I have for several years been inter- 

 viewing gunners for information re- 

 garding the water birds of the Dela- 

 ware, but have not made much pro- 

 gress in my studies, chiefly on account 

 of their ignorance and doubtful verac- 

 ity. Of all the liars I ever encounter- 

 ed — fishermen not excepted — the duck 

 hunters beat them all. And it is not 

 often I learn anything of dependable 

 import and from these exaggerators 

 of the truth. However, there are, I 

 am glad to say, some good exceptions. 



I can find no authentic records of 

 the occurrence of Scoters on the Del- 

 aware. That they are occasionally 

 taken during or after severe storms, 

 we have the word of reliable gunners. 

 Mr. L. "V. Morris has seen Scoters on 

 the river at Bristol, Pa., but the spe- 

 cies is in doubt. The only reliable 

 record I know of is the capture of a 

 White-winged Scoter (Oidemia deglan- 

 di) on October 24, 1910, at Fish House, 

 Camden County, New Jersey, on the 

 Delaware river, behind the dyke, by 

 a gunner of Richmond, Philadelphia, 

 named Somers, who killed it over his 

 decoys. It was seen by my brother 

 George, who carefully examined it, as 

 Somers stopped in our boat house on 

 the way home, and from George's de- 

 scription it was a female. This is, I 

 believe, the only authentic capture of 

 a Scoter on the Delaware, and in this 

 connection the reliable record of one 

 is worthy of more than passing notice, 

 although the specimen was lost to 

 science, as is generally the case with 

 rarities, for it was eaten by the gun- 

 ner. 



This bird occurred here after a 

 storm of several days' duration. 



Scoters must be stupid birds, for 



