THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
tail dark sooty-brown. Iris yellow; bill black; feet dingy olive, the toes 
more yellow, especially along the edges of the webs, which are black; 
joints blackish. Total length about 17 inches; bill 17 inch; wing 
8*3 inches ; tail 2 ' 1 inches ; tarsus 1 4 inch. 
General distribution. — ^The scaup-duck inhabits the greater part of the 
northern hemisphere, ranging in summer up to 70° N. lat. Its breeding- 
range includes the Faeroe Islands, Iceland, and Northern Europe and 
Asia, from Scandinavia across Arctic Russia and Siberia to Bering Sea; 
while in North America it is found from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts, 
from the Aleutian Islands southwards to North Dakota, Ontario and the 
Magdalen Islands north of about 49° N. lat. 
In winter it is met with as far south as the Mediterranean, being gener- 
ally more numerous in the eastern parts, and in North Africa on the lakes 
of Algeria, and probably also of Tunisia, but apparently notin Abyssinia, 
as has been stated by Seebohm. It occurs on the Black and Caspian Seas, 
and rarely in Northern India; while eastwards it visits China, Japan and 
Formosa; and, in America, Mexico, Central America, and the West 
Indies. 
Distribution in the British Isles. — ^To the British Isles the scaup-duck 
is chiefly a winter-visitor, making its appearance on our coasts in October, 
and remaining till spring. Of recent years, however, a few pairs have been 
known to remain and breed in the north of Scotland and in the Outer 
Hebrides. 
Nest and eggs. — It is essentially a maritime species, except in the 
breeding-season, when it comes inland to nest among rough grass, bil- 
berries, etc., in the vicinity of water. The nest is generally well hidden 
and placed in a hole lined with dry sedge and grass and, after the eggs are 
laid, with down. The eggs, from six to eleven in number, vary in colour 
from greenish-drab to greenish -grey, and measure about 2 35 inches 
by 1*65 inches. The scaup is an expert diver, and obtains much of its food 
under water; this consists chiefly of molluscs, crustaceans, and the larvae 
of insects, together with some vegetable matter. The flesh is strong and 
unpalatable. 
Allied form. — ^In America a very similar but smaller species, N. affinis, 
also occurs, the male being distinguished, among other characters, by 
having the head and neck glossed with purple instead of green. 
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