THE VELVET-SCOTER. 373 



Bay and Solway. In Ireland regular visitor to northern half, but 

 scarce elsewhere. On inland waters infrequent. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeding from Iceland through north 

 Europe and west Siberia to Taimyr Peninsula, from about lat. 

 74° to Polar Circle (bred Spitsbergen 1905). On passage and in 

 winter on shores of Europe, occasionally as far south as Spain, 

 Portugal, the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas, Cyprus and 

 Palestine, Azores, Madeira, Canaries, Marocco, and Rio de Oro on 

 west coast of the Sahara. Replaced by a closely-allied race in North 

 America and north-east Siberia. 



OIDEMIA FUSCA 



323. Oidemia fusca fusca (L.)— THE VELVET-SCOTER. 



Anas fusca Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 123 (1758 — "Habitat in 

 Oceano Europseo." Restricted typical locality : Swedish coast). 

 CEdemia fusca (Linnaeus), Yarrell, iv, p. 476 ; Saunders, p. 467. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter. — Head, nape and sides of 

 neck black glossed dull violet -purple or dull green ; immediately 

 below eye a small crescentic white patch ; upper-parts black 

 glossed dull green ; chin, throat and fore -neck brown-black ; 

 under-parts black, centre of breast and belly brown-black, drab- 

 brown feather-bases imperfectly concealed ; axillaries black-brown ; 

 under wing -coverts same more or less tipped white ; tail black 

 glossed dull green ; primaries black glossed dull green, inner webs 

 dusky- brown tipped black ; secondaries white, first with outer 

 web black-brown, succeeding ones sometimes more or less edged 

 black-brown on outer webs, rest sometimes with a small dusky 

 mark at tip of inner webs, one next innermost marked black-brown 

 on inner web, innermost and all wing-coverts as upper-parts, 

 greater coverts broadly tipped white, lesser coverts bordering edge 

 of wing brown-black. This plumage is acquired by a body-moult 

 Aug. to March. Summer.— There appears to be a partial moult in 

 spring involving head and neck and some feathers of body. 



Adult male. Eclipse. — Head and neck, some feathers of mantle 

 and scapulars and apparently most of under-parts are moulted first, 

 followed by wings and tail in Aug. Very little material in moult 

 has been examined, and only one (Aug. 12, 1917) in full eclipse 

 plumage, this bird being in the collection of Mr. E. L. Schioler, to 

 whom I am much indebted for permission to give the following 

 description. Crown, nape, cheeks, sides of neck, chin and throat 

 brown-black with no violet-purple gloss, feathers (except crown) 

 with ill-concealed black-brown bases ; white patch under eye as 

 in winter-summer ; mantle and scapulars intermixed with black- 

 brown feathers ; feathers of sides of body and flanks black-brown 

 shading to brownish -white at base ; breast, belly and vent browner 

 than in winter -summer ; new black winter -summer feathers coming 

 in on upper and under-parts, new tail-feathers short and in quill, 



