180 
FULIGULINJE. OIDEMIA. 
subbasal. Eyes rather small. Aperture of ear small. 
Legs very short, placed rather far behind ; tarsus compressed, 
with small scutella ; hind toe small, slender, with a pretty 
large membrane ; anterior toes nearly double the length of 
the tarsus ; interdigital membranes full ; claws small, slightly 
arcuate, compressed, obtuse. Plumage full, dense, and 
soft ; wings rather short, convex, narrow, pointed ; the first 
and second quills longest ; inner secondaries oblong ; tail 
very short, narrow, much rounded, or tapering, of fourteen 
or sixteen stiffish, narrow, obtusely pointed feathers. 
The Scoters inhabit the open sea or estuaries during the 
greater part of the year, feeding chiefly on bivalve mollus- 
ca, for which they dive in shallow or moderately deep water. 
In summer they betake themselves to the arctic regions, 
where they nestle on the shores of the sea, lakes, or marshes, 
forming a bulky nest lined with down, and laying from five 
to eight whitish eggs. 
255. Oidemia fusca. Velvet Scotee. 
Male with the bill protuberant and sloping at the base 
above, the rounded lateral protuberances partially feathered, 
the base and margins of both mandibles black, the unguis of 
each red, the sides of the upper orange ; inner side of the 
tarsus and toes orpiment- orange, outer lake-red ; plumage 
black, glossed with blue and green above ; outer secondary 
quills, tips of their coverts, and a spot below the eye, white ; 
tail of fourteen feathers. Female with the bill dusky, its 
basal prominence less elevated ; the feet coloured as in the 
male ; the plumage sooty brown, the breast and abdomen 
paler ; outer secondaries and tips of their coverts white ; two 
whitish spots on each side of the head. Young like the fe- 
male, 
Male, 21, 37, Hi, Iff, 2±f, iV Female, 21, 36. 
The Velvet Scoters make their appearance on our coasts 
in the end of autumn, and depart about the middle of April. 
They frequent the estuaries and bays, and procure their food 
by diving. They fly low, with considerable speed, swim well, 
remain long under water, are usually gregarious, and often 
assemble in very large flocks. It is on the eastern coasts of 
Scotland that they are most abundant. In summer they re- 
tire to the arctic regions to breed. The species is common 
to both continents. 
