Family ANATID^. Genus Fuligula. 



Subfamily Fuligulinm. 



VELVET SCOTER. 



FULIGULA Y\i'&Q,k—{LinncEus). 



Geographical Distribution. — British .■ Regular winter 

 visitor, but much less common than the preceding species. 

 Occurs sparingly on the south and east coasts of England, 

 chiefly in those localities frequented by the Common Scoter, 

 becomes more frequent on the east coast of Scotland, but is 

 decidedly rare in the Shetlands. Much less common round the 

 western coasts of Scotland, and said to be rare in the Outer 

 Hebrides. Rare and local in the west of England and chiefly 

 mixed with the common species. Rare in Ireland, chiefly met 

 with at sea off the east and south coasts. According to the late 

 Mr. Booth a few pairs may possibly breed in the north of 

 Scotland, but no direct evidence is yet forthcoming. Foreign : 

 Northern Patearctic region ; more southerly in winter. Breeds in 

 the Arctic and subarctic regions of Europe and Asia from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific, as far north as lat. 69°, and as far south as 

 the Baltic Provinces in the west and lat. 55° in the east. Winters 

 in the basin of the North Sea, occasionally wandering as far 

 south as Spain and the Mediterranean and Black Seas. To 

 Turkestan, Dauria, and Mongolia it is a visitor on passage, and in 

 winter it is found in the basin of the Caspian and on the coasts 

 of Japan and China, at least as far south as Shanghai. Has once 

 been obtained in Alaska and once in Greenland. 



Allied Forms. — FuUgula fusca velreti?ia, an inhabitant in 

 summer of Arctic America from west to east, and in winter of the 

 Great Lakes and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as far south 

 as the Gulf of Mexico and Lower California. The American 



