VELVET DUCK. 



527 



before, wholly webbed ; claws curved ; wings short, the first quill the 

 longest.* 



VELVET DUCK (Oidemiafusca, Fleming.) 



Anas fusca, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 196. Q.—Gmel. Syst. 2. p. 507.— Lath. Ind. Orn. 2. 

 p. 848. No. 44. — Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2. p. 855 — Anas nigra major, Rail, Syn. 

 p. 141. A. 4.— Will. p. 278. t. 70.— Briss. 6. p. 423.29.— lb. 8vo. 2. p. 472.— 

 Turpan, Buf. Ois. 9. p. 291 1— Grande, ou double Macreuse, lb. 9. p. 242.— 

 Great Black Duck, Will. (Angl.) p. 363. t. 70.— Velvet Duck, Br. Zool. 2. 



No. 272. t. 96.-76. fol. 152 Arct. Zool. 2. No. 482 — lb. Supp. p. 75.— 



Lath. Syn. 6. p. 482. 37 lb. Supp. p. 274 Pult. Cat. Dorset, p. 20 Wale. 



Syn. 1. t. 58 Lewiu's Br. Birds, 7. t. 247. — Velvet Scoter, Flem. Br. Anim. 



p. 119.— Linn. Trans. 4. pi. 15. 3. 7. ("Trachea.) 



Provincial. — Double Scoter. Black Diver. 



This is rather larger than the common drake ; length about twenty 



inches. The bill broad, with a black knob at the base ; the rest of the bill 



is yellow ; the nail red; the edges all round black; the plumage is black, 



inclining to brown on the belly ; under each eye is a white mark passing 



backwards in a streak ; across the middle of the wing is a band of 



white ; legs red ; claws black. The female is more inclining to brown, 



and the protuberance on the bill is wanting ; forehead and cheeks under 



the eye, dull brownish ; behind that a large oval spot of white ; whole 



upper parts and neck dark brownish drab; tips of the plumage lighter ; 



second ones white ; wing quills deep brown ; belly brownish-white ; tail 



hoary-brown ; the throat white, marked with dusky specks ; legs and 



feet yellow. 



This species much resembles the scoter, only that bird has no white 

 feathers about it, and the colour of the bill is somewhat different. In 

 the windpipe of this bird is a singular bony swelling, the size of a small 

 walnut, situated about two-thirds of the length from the larynx; imme- 

 diately under the larynx is another oblong bony cavity, of nearly an inch 

 in length ; at the divarication the parts become bony, but not greatly 

 enlarged. This is peculiar to the male sex. It is sometimes seen on 

 our coasts in winter, but not commonly ; and is, we believe, never found 

 in fresh water. It frequents Hudson's Bay in summer, where it breeds ; 

 is said to make a nest of grass, and to lay from six to ten white eggs. 



" This species," says Wilson, " is often confounded with the scoter, 

 by our gunners on the sea coast. It differs, however, in being of 

 greater size, in having a broad band of white across the wing, a spot of 

 the same under the eye, and in the structure of its bill. The habits of 

 both are very much alike ; they visit us only during the winter ; feed 

 entirely on fish, which they procure by diving, and return to the nor- 

 thern regions early in spring to breed. They often associate with the 

 scoter, and are frequently taken in the same nets with them. Owing 



