DUCKS 65 



SURF SCOTER; "COOT": Melanitta perspieiUata 

 (Linnaeus) 4 



State records. — The surf scoter occurs rarely or irregularly 

 in winter in Mississippi Sound. I secured an immature speci- 

 men near Point-aux-Pines, November 13, 1915, and saw an- 

 other on6 next day in Grand Bay. W. L. Bryant shot one in 

 Grand Bay, February 8, 1916, which is now preserved in the 

 collection of the Department of Archives and History, at 

 Montgomery. Addie Taylor, of Mobile, tells me that he has 

 frequently shot these coots in the sound near Coffee Island, 

 where they occur in flocks of 50 to 75. 



General habits. — This hardy bird is a lover of the sea and 

 of cold weather. It spends the winter in large numbers along 

 the Atlantic Coast as far south as Chesapeake Bay, and strag- 

 glers reach the Gulf of Mexico. It congregates, often in large 

 flocks, feeding in the open waters of the larger bays and 

 sounds, as well as in the ocean. Surf scoters are not very 

 wary, and may usually be shot with little difficulty, but by 

 reason of the poor quality of their flesh and the difficulty of 

 picking them they are little sought after by hunters. 



Food habits. — Audubon mentions having found fish of dif- 

 ferent kinds and several species of shellfish in stomachs of 

 this species.* The stomach of a specimen collected in Missis- 

 sippi Sound contained remains of a marine invertebrate and 

 of small crabs and mollusks. 



RUDDY DUCK: Erismatura jamaicensis (Gmelin). 



State records. — The ruddy duck is reported to occur regu- 

 larly in the small shallow bays near Mobile. Apparently,, 

 however, it is not very common, and the only definite record 

 is that of a pair which I shot in Duckers Bay, December 4, 

 1915, as the birds rested alone on the water. The species has 

 not thus far been recorded from other parts of the State. 



General habits. — In Alabama this little duck is known to 

 the local hunters as "sleeper," from its habit of sleeping on 

 sandbars in the daytime. It does not associate much with 



tOidentia perspicillata of the A. O. U. Check-list ; for change of name see The Auk, 

 vol. 34, p. 200, 1917. 



•Audubon, J. J., Ornith. Biog., vol. 4, p. 164, 1838. 



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