338 SURF DUCK. 



the noble bays of our own coast, in the Sound, between New York and the 

 Hook, on the broader waters of the Chesapeake, and beyond them to the 

 mouths of the Mississippi, I had seen thousands of Surf Ducks; but the num- 

 bers that passed the shores of Labrador, bound for the far north, exceeded 

 all my previous conceptions. 



For more than a week after we had anchored in the lovely harbour of 

 Little Macatina, I had been anxiously searching for the nest of this species, 

 but in vain: the millions that sped along the shores had no regard to my 

 wishes. At length I found that a few pairs had remained in the neighbour- 

 hood, and one morning, while in the company of Captain Emery, searching 

 for the nests of the Red-breasted Merganser, over a vast oozy and treacherous 

 fresh-water marsh, I suddenly started a female Surf Duck from her treasure. 

 We were then about five miles distant from our harbour, from which our 

 party had come in two boats, and fully five and a half miles from the waters 

 of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The marsh was about three miles in length, 

 and so unsafe that more than once we both feared, as we were crossing it, 

 that we might never reach its margin. The nest was snugly placed amid 

 the tall leaves of a bunch of grass, and raised fully four inches above its 

 roots. It was entirely composed of withered and rotten weeds, the former 

 being circularly arranged over the latter, producing a well-rounded cavity, 

 six inches in diameter, by two and a half in depth. The borders of this 

 inner cup were lined with the down of the bird, in the same manner as the 

 Eider Duck's nest, and in it lay five eggs, the smallest number I have ever 

 found in any Duck's nest. They were two inches and two and a half 

 eighths in length, by one inch and five-eighths in their greatest breadth; 

 more equally rounded at both ends than usual; the shell perfectly smooth, 

 and of a uniform pale yellowish or cream-colour. I took them on board, 

 along with the female bird, which was shot as she rose from her nest. We 

 saw no male bird near the spot; but in the course of the same day, met with 

 several males by themselves, about four miles distant from the marsh, as we 

 were returning to the harbour. This induced me to believe that, like the 

 Eider and other Ducks that breed in Labrador, the males abandon the 

 females as soon as incubation commences. I regret that, notwithstanding all 

 my further exertions, I did not succeed in discovering more nests or young 

 birds. 



In the States of Maine and Massachusetts, this species is best known by 

 the name of "Butter-boat-billed Coot." The gunners of Long Island and 

 New Jersey call it the Black Sea Duck. It is often seen along the coast of 

 South Carolina, where my friend Johx Bachman has met with it. The 

 Surf Duck is a powerful swimmer and an expert diver. It is frequently 

 observed fishing at the depth of several fathoms, and it floats buoyantly 



