432 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



Allied Forms. — FuHgula nigra americana, an inhabitant in 

 summer of the Kurile Islands and Arctic America eastwards to 

 Hudson Bay, and in winter of Japan, the Pacific coast of America 

 to Southern California, the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic coast as 

 far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The American form of the 

 Common Scoter, only subspecifically distinct. May be dis- 

 tinguished from the Common Scoter by having the tubercle at 

 the base of the bill orange-yellow instead of black. This form 

 should be looked out for on the British coasts, especially in 

 autumn. 



Time during which the Common Scoter may be 

 taken. — August ist to March ist; otherwise by authority of 

 owner or occupier of land. 



Habits. — The Common Scoter is one of the best known, and 

 one of the most common Ducks to be found on and off the 

 British coasts during winter. In some parts its vast flocks literally 

 blacken the water, and may be observed far away from land 

 during moderately calm weather. No Duck is more gregarious 

 or more exclusively marine in its habits. The great autumn 

 migration of this species begins in September and lasts 

 through October in our islands, but many old birds are said to 

 arrive in the Baltic during August. The return flight commences 

 in April and lasts well into May. The line of migration is taken 

 across country as well as along the coast, and though this Duck 

 certainly migrates in flocks, these appear to break up into pairs as 

 soon as the breeding grounds are reached. This, however, only 

 applies to adults, for the immature birds do not appear to breed 

 during their first spring, but to continue all the summer in the 

 vast flocks they journeyed in from the south. These keep for the 

 most part to the sea, hanging about the Arctic islands and the 

 deltas of the great northern rivers. An immense flock, estimated at 

 ten thousand strong, was observed by Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie- 

 Brown in the middle of July, circling over the Golievsky Islands 

 in the delta of the Petchora. Flocks of non-breeding Scoters also 

 frequent our coasts all the summer as previously remarked. The 

 Scoter is rather a late bird of passage in spring, and was not 

 observed in the valley of the Petchora until the ist of June. 

 This Duck is just as proficient a diver as its congeners, and swims 



