204 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



One drizzly morning . . . the Scoters were in near shore. . . . The snri was 

 rolling in, sea after sea, and the great birds rode the green rollers. . . . When 

 a squad were down in front of the surf line and the foaming water-fall came, 

 it was laughable to see the row of tails disappear below. . . . When diving 

 through the green rollers near shore the black bodies of the Scoters, paddling 

 feet and all, showed as plainly as beetles in yellow amber (Bailey, 19166, pp. 

 109-110). 



According to Cooper {in Baird, Brewer and Eidgway, loe. eit.) 

 this species is but little hunted, and has but few natural enemies. 

 Many individuals escape the usual dangers that beset birds, and, 

 lingering along our southern coast finally die solely from old age. 

 The long rainy seasons are said to be fatal to some decrepit individuals, 

 as at such times the birds seem to be peculiarly subject to unfavorable 

 influences. At the time of assuming their spring plumage, many 

 become very thin, and even blind, and swim, unconscious of danger, 

 near the wharves and shores, or after storms are found weak and dying 

 along the beaches. 



"When feeding. Surf Scoters dive so constantly that but few of 

 the members of a flock are to be seen at the surface at any one time, 

 They keep popping up and disappearing so that the observer some- 

 times finds it impossible to count them. Swarth (1911, p. 45) found 

 this species at Kuiu Island, southeastern Alaska, feeding close to the 

 shore, in the shallow water. The drakes were constantly on the move, 

 flying for a few yards and then sliding for eight or ten feet upon 

 the surface of the water, with the wings held stiffly extended above 

 the body. 



The food of the Surf Scoter is made up almost entirely of shell- 

 fish obtained by diving. Stomachs examined by the United States 

 Biological Survey contained 79.6 per cent of mussels, 13.8 per cent 

 of periwinkles, and 6.6 per cent of algae and eel-grass (Forbush, 1912, 

 p. 165). This species is also said to eat fish. The gullet of one shot 

 near the edge of a California marsh, was so filled with small crabs 

 that they fell from its mouth when the bird was picked up. In this 

 state, small crabs and mussels form a considerable portion of the food 

 of this species (W. E. Bryant, 1893a, p. 55). 



The Surf Scoter is seldom shot for food as its flesh has a strong, 

 fishy flavor that to most people is very disagreeable. It is said to be 

 readily decoyed within gunshot by imitating its call-note from a blind, 

 so that it is sometimes killed for sport. The surf-riding propensities 

 of this duck, which ordinarily keep it out of reach, and its poor food 

 value render it of slight importance as a game bird, and in conse- 

 quence its numbers are likely to remain unchanged by human influence. 



