660 



Baltic, but occurs seldom in the interior, and has been obtained in Miinsterland on three occa- 

 sions. Naumann, however, states that it is more frequently met with on inland waters than the 

 common Scoter, and is seen almost annually on the Eisleber lake in small parties, and has been 

 shot on several occasions in Anhalt ; he also states that it occasionally breeds in Mecklenburg. 



In the autumn it is common on the coasts of Denmark ; and a considerable number remain 

 over the winter, the rest passing further south. Professor Schlegel speaks of it as being less 

 numerous in Holland than the common Scoter ; and it is recorded from Belgium as a rare spring 

 and winter visitant. In France it occurs on the coast, and occasionally even inland, in winter ; and 

 it sometimes, though rarely, visits the shores of Provence. Professor Barboza du Bocage includes 

 it in his list of the birds of Portugal with a query ; but Colonel Irby did not meet witli it in 

 Southern Spain, though he surmises that it occurs there in winter. Lord Lilford, however, writes 

 to me saying, " A small flock of these Scoters frequented the port of Santander throughout the 

 month of May 1876. I saw one there as late as the 21st June, and a large flock at the mouth 

 of the Gironde on the 24th of that month." 



In the Mediterranean it is but rare. It occurs in Savoy at irregular intervals on passage, 

 and is of accidental occurrence in Italy, but is stated to occur every winter near Venice. I do 

 not find it recorded from Sicily and Sardinia, except that Salvador! mentions (J. f. 0. 1865, p. 326) 

 that a male specimen is mounted in the Cagliari Museum. Dr. Kriiper speaks of it as being 

 very rare in Greece ; but, according to Erhard, it winters in the Cyclades. In Southern Germany 

 it is met with as a rare straggler, but, Dr. A. Fritsch says (J. f. O. 1872, p. 372), is oftener seen 

 in Bohemia than (Edemia nigra. On the 7th February 1850 he received a fine old male, and soon 

 after that Mr. Lokaj obtained a female, killed near the Hetzinsel, on the Moldau. Herr von 

 Pelzeln says that there are specimens in the Vienna Museum from the Neusiedler lake, Seefeld, 

 Laibach, and from Hungary ; but I do not find it recorded from the Lower Danube, though Pro- 

 fessor von Nordmann states that it occurs in winter in very small numbers in the Black Sea. It 

 was not observed by Canon Tristram on the coast of Palestine, but occurs in North-east Africa, 

 where, Von Heuglin says, it visits the lagoons of Lower Egypt as a rare winter straggler, most 

 of the specimens seen being immature birds. 



It is somewhat difficult to say how far eastward in Asia it extends, but probably across the 

 continent. According to Pallas it is found on the Caspian, but is less common than (Edemia 

 nigra ; and De Filippi states that it was abundant on a pool of water near Tabriz and on Lake 

 Gokscha. Dr. Severtzoff states that it occurs on passage in winter in Turkestan, but it does not 

 appear to straggle so far south as India. Von Middendorff says that it was shot on the south 

 coast of the sea of Ochotsk; and Dr. Eadde remarks that old females are seen throughout the 

 summer in Northern Mongolia in districts below 50° N. lat., but they are rare, and he never saw 

 any males in Southern Siberia. In May 1856 one out of four females was shot on a freshwater 

 lake at Kulussutajefsk; and in May 1858 he saw eight individuals in the Bureja Mountains. In 

 Eastern Mantshuria it has been recorded much further south ; for he received a female which had 

 been killed at Port May in 43° N. lat. on the 3rd November 1860. It is doubtful whether these 

 East- Asiatic specimens are referable to the present species or to its closely allied American 

 congener ; and I have been unable to examine specimens and settle this question : but it appears 

 probable that some belong to the American form ; for, according to Mr. Swinhoe, both forms occur 



