212 
ANAS NIGRA. 
back, she swims with them a few yards, and then dive*’ 
and leaves them floating on the water ! In this situatk" 
they soon learn to take care of themselves, and 
seldom aftern'ards seen on the land, but live among 1^^*^ 
rocks, and feed on insects and sea weed.” 
Some attempts have been made to domesticate th^*^ 
birds, but hitherto without success. 
269. ANAS NIOBA, I.INNJEOS AND WILSON SCOTER DL’C*' 
WILSON, PLATE LXXII. FIG. II. EDINBURGH COLLEGE 
This duck is but little known along our sea cef**' 
being more usually met with in the nortlieni tk'* 
southern districts, and only during the winter. 
food is shell fish, for ivhich it is almost perpetua''^ 
diving. That small bivalve so often mentioned, .sb' , 
muscles, spout fish, called on the coast, razor hatidl^' 
young clam.s, &c. furnish it witli abundant fare ; a"“j 
^v neiever these are plenty, the scoter is an oecasi^**. 
vi.sitor. They swim, seemingly at ease, amidst the V'‘'J 
roughest of the surf, but fly heavily along tlie surfk''’ 
and to no great distance, they rarely penetrate far "I- 
our rivers, but seem to prefer the neighlwurhood 
the ocean, differing in this respect from the corniorak' 
which often luakes extensive visits to the interior. 
The scoters are said to appear on the coasts of Frai”- 
in great luiinbers, to which they are attracted b)' 
certain kind of small bivalve shell fish called 
probably differing little from those already meutio"’' j 
Over the beds of these shell fish the fishermen 
their nets, supporting them, horizoiifallv, at the heik'^ 
of two or three feet from the bottom. At the flo"'’‘'r 
of the tide the scoters approach in great iiiiinh'’'’] 
diving after their favourite food, and soon get eiifai'r 
in the nets. Twenty or thirty dozen have soiiiet'"’ ’ 
been taken in a single tide. These are sold to the 
Catholics, who eat them on those days on which fb*J 
are forbidden by their religion the use of animal fc"^; 
fish excepted ; these birds, and a few others of the sk®' 
