14 



RECREATION. 



other American species it can always be told 

 by the broad white patch on the wing, which 

 is present in both sexes. It is a large duck, 

 large males weighing about 5 pounds. 



The note of the male is a high pitched, 

 grating quack, seldom heard, as they are 

 usually silent. 



When courting, the males chase one an- 

 other along the surface of the water. 

 Every now and then one will dive and come 

 up underneath another male, which then af- 

 fects great terror and immediately dives it- 

 self, this play being repeated for hours. 



On the coast of Southern British Colum- 

 bia great numbers of these birds can be 



red on inner and rose pink on outer sur- 

 faces. In the female the iris is brown, bill 

 blackish, and feet dusky reddish with black 

 webs. 



The surf scoter, Oidemia perspicillata, the 

 smallest of the genus, can always be told by 

 the absence of white from the wing and the 

 presence of a white patch on the nape in 

 both sexes. In range and habits it nearly 

 resembles the white winged species, but 

 seems to prefer shallower water, feeding 

 close in shore, often among the tumbling 

 surf from which it derives its name. The 

 note of the male is a curious liquid "puk," 

 resembling a drop of water falling in some 



SURF SCOTER, OIDEMIA PERSPICILLATA. 



seen in summer, nearly all old males ; but 

 none of the scoters breed there. The white 

 winged species breeds in the Northern por- 

 tion of the Province, East of the Rockies 

 also, and even South of the 49th parallel. 

 About the 1st of October great flights of fe- 

 males and young arrive on the coasts. 

 String follows string in rapid succession, 

 flying in lines abreast, and not one behind 

 the other. 



The male white winged scoter is a hand- 

 some bird, his velvety, dead black plumage 

 being relieved by the broad white wing 

 patch, and small white mark behind the 

 eyes. The iris in the male is white; bill 

 orange red and white, with the knob and 

 base black ; feet black, blotched with orange 



cavernous pool. This note is generally 

 heard when the males are courting, 6 or 8 

 of them whirling around like whirligig 

 beetles, with their heads high in the air. 



The iris in the male is pearly white, bill 

 vividly colored with red, orange, and Chi- 

 nese white, the 2 hard bosses at the base 

 black; feet red, the joints and webs dusky 

 black. In the female the iris is grayish 

 brown, bill blackish and feet dull red with 

 webs blackish. 



The American scoter, Oidemia Ameri- 

 cana, is nearly as large as the white winged. 

 In the male American the plumage is en- 

 tirely black. The female is lighter in color 

 than either of the other species ; the light 

 colored throat and cheeks and absence of a 



