128 



RUDDY DUCK— BLACK GUILLEMOT— RED-THROATED DIVER— SCOTER DUCK. 



marine plants, particularly of the Zostera marina, or eel grass, 

 of which he is very fond. He prefers to take his stand away from 

 marshy ground, where, if undisturbed, he will continue busily to 

 feed until the rising tide takes him on its bosom and floats him off 

 to sea. He is very local in his attachments, returning from year 

 to year to the same feeding grounds. He does not associate much 

 with other waders, though sometimes seen feeding in their vicinity. 

 His flesh is highly esteemed, and by some is considered nearly as 

 good as that of the Canvas-back. He is a shy bird and not easily 

 approached, and is said to dive only when he is wounded. His 

 flight resembles that of other geese, being slow and sedate. When 

 the weather is boisterous he finds shelter in estuaries and rivers. 

 Dr. Coues says that when ascending the Mississippi, he observed 

 vast numbers in flocks on the banks and mud bars of that river, 

 and he reports him as rare or casual on the Pacific coast. His 

 nest is very coarsely constructed, and the eggs are pure white. 

 The female, though smaller than the male, resembles him. In 

 flight, they make a trumpet-like noise, which, heard at a distance, 

 is said to resemble that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full 

 cry. 



Ruddy Duck. (Erismatura rubida.) 



Fig. 2. 



This Duck inhabits the whole of North America, and is abund- 

 ant throughout the interior. He is equally fond of salt, brackish, 

 or fresh water, and is found on the sea-coast as well as the lakes 

 and ponds of the interior. In his migrations he follows the sea- 

 coast or the courses of our rivers. His flight is rapid, and accom- 

 panied with a whirring sound. He rises from the water with con- 

 siderable difficulty, being obliged to assist himself with his broad 

 webbed feet, and, as it were, run for some way upon the water. 

 When once on the wing he sustains himself with much ease, and 

 makes extended journeys. In the water he moves with much ele- 

 gance and ease. He is extremely expert at diving, by which 

 means he obtains his food, which consists of the roots and blades 

 of grasses, the growth of fresh-water ponds, while on the sea-coast 

 he devours crabs, fiddlers, and kindred marine animals. His own 

 flesh, when he is fat and young, is highly esteemed. His note is 

 low and closely resembles that of the female Mallard. When 

 wounded he immediately dives, and if taken alive is very pugna- 

 cious. He is not a shy bird, and will allow a very near approach. 

 He is also a very sociable bird and frequents the company of Teals, 

 Scaups, Shovellers, and Mallards. His breeding habits are not 

 yet fully understood. Dr. Coues found him breeding abundantly 

 on the line of the 49th parallel, between Dakota and the British 

 Provinces, as late as July. Mr. Ruthven Deane found two in the 

 Boston market, on the 10th of September, with wings not suffi- 

 ciently fledged to fly. These were shot at Cape Cod. They mi- 

 grate southward, in large flocks, through Massachusetts during 

 the months of October and November. 



Black Guillemont— Sea Pigeon. (JUria grylle.) 



Fig. 3- 



The Black Guillemont is confined to the northeastern coast of 

 America and Greenland. In winter he strays as far south as New 

 Jersey. His nest, according to Audubon, is made of smooth, 

 small pebbles, which he brings from a distance in his mouth for 

 the purpose. These pebbles are shaped into a regular nest, and 

 are laid up about three inches high. When, however, the spot 

 selected for a nest is situated so as to preclude all dampness, no 

 attempt is made at nest-building, the eggs being laid on the bare 

 rock. These eggs are three in number, are white, and thickly 

 spotted with dark brown, especially around the larger end. They 

 are disproportionately large, measuring 2.37 by 1.62 inches, and 



are highly prized as an article of food. Before the young are able 

 to fly, they are led to the water by their parents, where they swim 

 and dive with great ease. The Guillemont's favorite breeding 

 place is about the different entrances to the Bay of Fundy and on 

 the rocky shores of the island of Grand Manan. Here, wherever 

 a fissure in the rock may be seen, one of these birds, during the 

 period of incubation, is pretty sure to be found. His flight is very 

 rapid and long continued, and as he propels himself through the 

 air, the black of his lower part and the white of his wings alter- 

 nately appear. On shore he walks with more than ordinary ease, 

 and steps from rock to rock with the aid of his wings. His food 

 consists of shrimps and other marine animals. In Hastings' Polar 

 World, we are informed that St. George, of the Pribiloro Island, 

 off Russian America, is inhabited in common by Sea Lions and 

 Black Guillemonts,the latter having taken possession of the places 

 unoccupied by the former, where they fly fearlessly among them, 

 or nestle in the crevices of the water-worn rock-walls, or between 

 the large boulders which form a bank along the strand. 



Red-throated Diver. (Colymbus septentrionalis.') 

 Fig. 4- 



The range of this Diver extends from the Arctic seas to Mary- 

 land, and he is also found on the Pacific coast. He breeds in 

 May and June, choosing for his nest some small, sequestered 

 island, in the middle of a lake or large pond of fresh water, lying 

 near the sea-shore. His nest consists of a few blades of grass 

 loosely put together and without lining. This nest is placed within 

 a few feet of the water, with a well-beaten track leading from it 

 to the shore. He never alights upon the land, and before going 

 to his nest, swims all around it, carefully reconnoitering, and if 

 free from danger, crawls silently out of the water, and then slowly 

 waddles to it. But three eggs are laid, deep olive brown in color, 

 marked irregularly with spots of dull dark brown, and measuring 

 3 by 1.75 inches. The male assists the female in incubating, and 

 both are extremely solicitous for their young. The latter take to 

 the water the day succeeding their escape from the egg, and are 

 even then very expert swimmers and divers. The male is much 

 larger than the female, weighing on an average fully a pound 

 more. The Red-throated lives almost entirely at sea, resorting 

 only to fresh water for the purpose of breeding. He is at all times 

 an exceedingly shy bird, and very difficult to shoot. At the ap- 

 proach of the huntsman he increases his vigilance, and long before 

 the former arrives within gunshot he either dives or flies away. 

 His notes are harsh and rather loud, and resemble the syllables 

 cac, cac, carah, carah, repeated in rapid succession. He does 

 not acquire his full beauty of plumage until the fourth year. 

 While in fresh water he feeds on small fish, shrimps, leeches, 

 snails, and aquatic insects. His flesh is tough, oily, and dark 

 colored, and very unpalatable. 



American Black Scoter, or Scoter Duck. (Oidemia americana.) 



Fig- 5- 



This Duck is an inhabitant of both coasts of North America and 

 its larger inland waters. His winter range extends as far north 

 as the coast of Massachusetts, and from thence south to the mouth 

 of the Mississippi. A few pairs breed on the coast of Labrador, 

 but the vast majority proceed further north. The nest resembles 

 that of the Eider Duck, though very much smaller. It is exter- 

 nally composed of small sticks, moss, and grasses, and lined with 

 down mixed with feathers. The eggs are usually eight in num- 

 ber, oval, smooth, uniform pale yellow, and measure 2.00 by 1.62 

 inches. The parents are very solicitous for their young. Audu- 

 bon found a female with several young ones, but was unsuccessful 



