THE VELVET SCOTER. 
163 
into the possession of Mr. Bartlett of London ; all 
these in this country have occurred in winter. It is 
of nearly equal rarity on the Continent, and few 
notices of it occur either in any of the recent works 
devoted to Natural History, or in those books of 
tours which lately, under the apology of Sport, 
have recorded some interesting anecdotes on the 
habits of little known species. 
On the coasts of North America this Scoter is 
abundant, Wilson states it is common in winter, 
along the whole coast, from the river St. Lawrence 
to Florida. Mr. Audubon, in his excursion to the 
coast of Labrador, found it there, passing on nortli- 
w r ard to breed, in numbers that exceeded all his 
previous conceptions ; a very few pairs only re- 
mained to breed there, and he only succeeded in 
finding a single nest in an extensive fresh- w T ater 
marsh. It was “ snugly placed amid the tall leaves 
of a bunch of grass, and raised full four inches above 
the ground.” It was composed of withered and 
rotten weeds, and was lined with the down of the 
bird. The eggs, considered small for the size of the 
bird were of a uniform pale yellowish or cream 
colour. 
The Velvet Scoter, CEdemia fusca. — Anas 
fusca, Linn. — CEdemia fusca, Flem., Selby , &c. — 
Great Black Duck, W illugh. — Velvet Duck . — Velvet, 
or Double Scoter of British authors. — This fine spe- 
cies is also a sea duck in the most extensive sense. 
