Ducks, GEESE, AND SWANS. 251 
“This duck is but little known along our sea-coast, being more 
usually met with in the northern than southern districts, and only 
during the winter. Its food is shell-fish, for which it is almost per- 
petually diving. That small bivalve so often mentioned, small mus- 
cles, spout-fish, called on the coast vazor-handles, young clams, etc., 
furnish it with abundant fare, and wherever these are plenty the 
Scoter is an occasional visitor. They swim, seemingly at ease, amidst 
the very roughest of the surf, but fly heavily along the surface and to 
no great distance. They rarely penetrate far up our rivers, but seem 
to prefer the neighborhood of the ocean, differing in this respect from 
the Cormorant, which often makes extensive visits to the interior.” 
