﻿122 ANATID/E. 



NA TA TORES. A NA T1DJF. 



PLATE CCLV. 



VELVET SCOTER, 



OIDE3IIA FUSCA. 



The Velvet Scoter is, like the foregoing species, a regular 

 winter visitant upon our coasts ; its earlier or later appear- 

 ance depending upon the state of the "weather. 



The native regions of the Velvet Scoter are the countries 

 of Europe, Asia, and America, that are situated within the 

 Polar Circle. In Russia it is very numerous, and in 

 Siberia and Kamtschatka also very common, as well as in 

 Hudson's Bay and the adjoining countries. In Greenland 

 and Iceland the present species is not known to occur ; in 

 the Orkneys, Hebrides, and in Norway it is again plentiful. 

 During the winter season, the severity of the weather drives 

 it southward to Sweden, the Baltic, and Denmark, and to 

 the coasts of Great Britain, Holland, and France ; also to 

 the inland seas of Russia, Pommerania, and Holstein. Some 

 instances are on record of its being met with on the inland 

 rivers and lakes of Germany, as well as in Switzerland ; 

 on the coast of Italy it has also been seen at intervals. 



The Velvet Scoter leaves its summer quarters later than 



