THE VELVET-SCOTER. 375 



moulted from Dec. onwards. Female. — A certain amount of adult 

 plumage is acquired ; most advanced bird examined had feathers 

 of lores worn and abraded, white patch below eye merely indicated 

 by exposed white bases of new black-tipped feathers ; new feathers 

 like those of adult coming in on head, scapulars, upper and under 

 tail-coverts, upper-breast, sides of body and flanks ; juvenile tail 

 and wings worn. 



First eclipse. Male. — (Not examined.) 



Second winter and summer. Male. — Birds with brown-black 

 under -parts may be 2nd year birds. 



Measurements and structure. — (? wing 269-293 mm., tail 76-87, 

 tarsus 42-47, bill from feathers 43-49 (12 measured). $ wing 251- 

 260, bill 38-42 (5 measured). Primaries : 1st narrow, pointed and 

 more than half longest primary -covert, 2nd longest, 3rd equal or 

 2-5 mm. shorter, 4th 10-18 shorter, 5th 24-35 shorter, 6th 40-50 

 shorter. Primaries not emarginated. Innermost secondaries some- 

 what pointed at tip, longest shorter than 6th or 7th primaries. Tail 

 graduated, wedge-shaped, 14 stiff, pointed feathers, central pair 

 considerably exceeding outermost pair in length. Bill very broad at 

 tip with a moderate protuberance at base of maxilla ; feathers extend 

 slightly forward on to upper mandible but do not form prominent 

 angles, loral slightly exceeds frontal feathering ; sides of maxilla 

 in ad. $ much swollen near rictus. Other structure as in 0. n. nigra 

 but no down-like feathers at base of upper mandible. 



Soft parts. — Bill (ad. (?) protuberance at base, nostrils and 

 band at lateral base and margin of bill and a streak on each side 

 from nostrils to nail black, sides rich orange, nail and part of ridge 

 behind nail reddish flesh colour, basal half of lower mandible black, 

 rest lake-red, (ad. $) entirely dusky, (juv. (?) slate-black, nail 

 brownish, (juv. $) greenish -black ; legs and feet (ad. (?) deep red, 

 webs dusky-black, (?) as male but duller, (1st winter (?) reddish- 

 ochre, webs sepia, (juv. $) orange-pink, webs blackish ; iris (ad. 

 c?) greyish-white with an external dusky ring, (ad. $ and juv. (? 

 and $) brown. 



Characters and allied forms. — Adult male of 0. f. stejnegeri 

 (N.E. Asia) has shorter and differently coloured bill with prominent 

 projecting knob at base, anterior outline concave — nostrils broad 

 and almost round, $ and young have also shorter bill and loral 

 feathering extends almost to nostrils ; 0. f. deglandi (N. America) 

 like male 0. f. stejnegeri but knob less high, anterior outline not 

 concave, sides of belly and flanks brown, frontal feathering extends 

 as far forward as loral feathering which reaches almost to nostrils. 

 0. f. fusca is distinguished by white speculum from other British 

 Scoters. 



Field -characters. — In form and habits very like Common Scoter, 

 but rather larger and readily distinguished by white wing-bar, 

 evident in swimming bird and very conspicuous in flight. Male, 

 too, has a white mark which nearly encircles eye, whilst female has 



