278 
ORDERS OF BIRDS— DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 
Our occupation of Alaska, after the Russians, 
has led to the arming of the natives with modern 
rifles and shot-guns, before which wild life gen- 
erally is rapidly being swept out of existence. 
The White-Winged Scoter 1 (sko'ter) quite 
acceptably represents a group of sea -ducks 
and deep divers, called Scoters, and of which 
there are three species resident in North Amer- 
ica. These are the blackest of all our ducks. 
The species known as the American Scoter 
southern California, northern Missouri, Illinois 
and Maryland. Like most of our ducks, it 
breeds in the far north, and returns to us only 
for the winter. It is a deep and persistent 
diver, and it is said that when wounded and 
pursued it will sometimes dive to the bottom, 
even fifty feet if necessary, seize a bunch of 
grass or weeds with its bill, and hold on until 
it has quite drowned. Its food consists of fish, 
crustaceans and mollusks. 
Female. Male. 
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. 
is glossy black throughout, without a single 
patch of color save the bright orange-yellow 
which colors the basal half of the bill and its 
knob. 
The White-Winged species has a white patch 
on each wing, technically known as a “specu- 
lum,” and a white patch of variable shape under 
or in rear of the eye. Above and in rear of the 
nostrils the bill and skull together are raised into 
a conspicuous hump, half covered by feathers. 
Like all the scoters, this bird is a fish-eating 
duck, and its flesh is so fishy in flavor it is not 
considered fit for the table. It is widely dis- 
tributed throughout North America down to 
1 Oi-de'm i-a deg-land'i. Average length, 21 inches. 
The Red-Breasted Merganser 2 bravely and 
handsomely represents what is structurally 
the lowest group of ducks, known as the Mer- 
gansers, embracing three species. The bill of 
this bird is long, narrow, and set along the edges 
with lamellae that look quite like sharp teeth — 
a most admirable arrangement for seizing fish 
under water. The bill of a Mergapser always 
reminds me of two things: the jaws of the 
gavial, or Gangetic crocodile, and Professor 
Marsh’s toothed bird, the Hes-per-or'nis, from 
the great extinct inland sea of the Middle West. 
One of the common names of this bird is the 
Saw-Bill; and it is peculiarly appropriate. 
2 Mer-gan'ser ser-ra'lor. Average length, 22 inches. 
