80 BIRDS 



Devil's Lake in June to breed, as they arrive direct from 

 the North to rear their young in the treeless tracts of the 

 Dakotas. 



The nests are usually slight hollows in the earth under 

 a tussock of grass or a small bush on drj"^ ground where the 

 lake forms a hard shore. 



THE SURF SCOTER* 



The Surf Scoter is also known by several other popular 

 names, such as the Surf Duck, the Surf or Sea Coot, and, 

 not infrequently, the Booby. The name Velvet Duck, 

 though more commonly applied to the white-winged scoter, 

 is also sometimes used to designate this species. 



This scoter is an American species, and is only an acci- 

 dental visitor to European coasts. Its range includes the 

 "coasts and larger inland waters of northern North Amer- 

 ica; in winter, south to Florida, to the Ohio River, and to 

 San Quentin Bay, Lower Cahfornia." 



Our illustration is that of a male bird. The female is 

 a sooty bro\\'n, silvery-gray below, and with much wliite on 

 the sides of the head. 



The note of the surf scoter is to me the most pleasing 

 of all the ducks. It is a soft, mellow wliistle, ending in a 

 "cluck! cluck!" 



JSIr. Nelson states that the surf scoter appears in the 

 vicinity of St. INIichaels, Alaska, about the middle of May, 

 and nests commonly in the marshes of the delta of the 

 Yukon River. It also nests in large numbers on the Atlan- 

 tic Coast, from Labrador northward. 



