THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
male, the first being, however, much less abruptly attenuated; axillaries 
dark smoky-brown; bill black without any distinct swelling at the base. 
Total length about 18 inches ; culmen 1 ‘7 inch ; wing 8 '5 inches ; tail 3 4 
inches; tarsus 17 inch. 
General distribution . — ^The breeding-range of the scoter extends from 
Iceland through North Europe and Asia as far east as the Taimyr Penin- 
sula in Western Siberia, and from about 74° N. latitude southwards 
to the Arctic Circle. It is reported to have bred in Spitzbergen in 1905. In 
winter it is a very common species on the Atlantic shores of Europe, and 
wanders southwards to the Azores, the coast of North-west Africa, and 
visits the Mediterranean; it is met with on the Caspian Sea and also off 
the coast of Palestine. 
Distribution in the British Isles . — In the British Isles it breeds in small 
numbers in the more northern counties of Scotland, and is reported to 
have nested in the Inner Hebrides, on the Island of Tiree, in 1897, and 
on a lough in Ireland of recent years. It is a very plentiful winter -visitor 
to our coasts, especially the east coast of Great Britain, but is less numer- 
ous on the west. Round the north of Ireland it is also plentiful, but on 
the southern and western shores it is seldom found. In spring the majority 
of adult birds depart to the north of Europe, but a number of immature 
birds remain about our coast throughout the summer. 
Nest and eggs . — The nest, usually made of moss and grass, with a 
lining of down, is placed on an island in a fresh -water loch, or among 
heather in the vicinity. The eggs, from six to nine in number, are laid 
early in June, and vary in colour from greyish-brown to light brownish 
cream-colour. They measure about 2 *55 by 1 75 inches. 
The food consists principally of molluscs, which are obtained by diving, 
and the flesh is coarse and oily. 
The scoter is an expert diver, like the rest of its allies, and can remain 
for a considerable time under water. It is one of the commonest of our 
sea-ducks, and may often be seen in winter in the North Sea in very large 
flocks containing thousands of birds. Except during the breeding -season 
it rarely visits inland waters unless wounded or driven inland by severe 
storms. 
Allied form . — In North America the scoter is represented by a slightly 
different form, (E. americana^ which differs only in the colour of the bill, 
the basal half of the mandible, including the whole of the swollen knob 
at the base, being yellow, shading into orange -scarlet on the sides. 
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