KING EIDERS (Somateria spectabilis) 

 are found throughout the northern parts of 

 the Northern Hemisphere, breeding in Arctic 

 regions and wintering in America, south 

 regularly to the Great Lakes, Long Island 

 and the Aleutian Islands. They are hand- 

 some birds, as may be seen from the illustra- 

 tion, having more black in the plumage 

 than the other Eiders and having a very 

 large and prominent frontal process at the 

 base of the bill. The female is sKghtly 

 grayer than the other species, but can best be 

 identified by the fact that the feathers on the 

 sides of the bill come far short of reaching 

 the nostrils. This seems to be even more ex- 

 clusively a sea duck than the others and is 

 rarely found inland. It is of about the same 

 size as other Eiders, namely, 22 or 23 in. in 

 length. 



SCOTER (Oidemia americana). This is 

 the smallest of the so-called "Sea Coots," be- 

 ing about 18 in. in length. Because of the 

 slightly enlarged, bright yellow, basal portion 

 of the bill, it is very often termed the "But- 

 ter-bin." This species and the two follow- 

 ing breed abundantly in the northern half of 

 Canada and Alaska, and winter in "rafts" off 

 the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the 

 United States and on the Great Lakes. 

 They are all excellent divers, feeding in deep 

 water; their flesh is, however, very tough 

 and quite unpalatable, although it is sometimes eaten. 



SURF SCOTERS {Oidemia perspicillata) , the male of which is shown in 

 the pen sketch, are about 20 in. in length. The female is chiefly gray, but 



has a large spot of white on the 

 cheeks. The bill of the male 

 is quite swollen and colored 

 black, white and orange. 



WHITE- WINGED SCOTER 

 {Oidemia deglandi), the largest 

 of the Scoters, is 22 in. in length. 

 5^°* The male is shown in the pen 

 \NhVt6-Vjmaadi&t^ev~ ^^^ Sto^tv^'' sketch. 



KING EIDER ( 6 , ? ) 

 SCOTER ( 2 ; 3 ) 



19 



