THE BIRD BOOK 
King Eider 
Scoter 
162. King Eider. Somateria spectabilis. 
Ranges — Northern Hemisphere, breeding in 
America from Labrador to Greenland and the 
Arctic Ocean; south in winter to the New Eng- 
land States and rarely farther on the eastern 
side, and to the Aleutians on the Pacific; also 
casually to the Great Lakes in the interior. 
A handsome and very different species from 
any of the foregoing, having the crown ashy blue, 
and the long scapulars black instead of white. 
It also has a broad V-shaped mark on the throat. 
Like all the other Eiders, the female is mottled 
brown and black, the different species being very 
difficult to separate. The nests are sunk in the 
ground and lined with down. Eggs number from 
six to ten. Size 2.80 x 1.80. Data. — Point Barrow, 
Alaska, July 5, 1898. Five eggs. Nest a hollow 
in the moss on tundra lined with moss and down. 
Collector, E. A. Mcllhenny. 
163. Scoter. Oidemia americana. 
Range.- — Northern North America, breeding 
from Labrador, the Hudson Bay region and the 
Aleutien Islands northward; winters south to 
Virginia, the Great Lakes and California. 
Scoters or “Coots” as they are generally called 
are sea ducks whose plumage is almost wholly 
black; they have fantastically colored and shaped 
bills. The American Scoter is entirely black 
without markings; base of bill yellow and orange. 
This species nest as do the Eiders, often conceal- 
ing the nest, of grass and feathers, under some 
overhanging rock. They lay from six to ten eggs 
of a dingy buff color. Size 2.50 xl.70. Data. — 
Mackenzie Bay, June 15, 1899. Ten eggs. Nest 
a hollow in the sand, lined with down. 
Buff 
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