43 
THE VELVET DUCK. 
. 
Fuligula fusca, Linn . 
PLATE COCCI— Male and Female. 
The Velvet Duck arrives from the north along the shores of the Middle 
States about the first of September, and extends to a greater or less distance 
southward, according to the state of the weather, often proceeding as far as 
Georgia. The Bay of Chesapeake and all the estuaries to the eastward are 
amply furnished with it, and there it is usually seen in company with the 
American Scoter, the Golden-eyed Duck, and some other species. It very 
rarely enters fresh waters during its stay on our coast, and is with great 
propriety called a Sea Duck. My friend Thomas Nuttall mentions that 
some, which probably were young birds, had been seen in Fresh Pond near 
Cambridge in Massachusetts. This is the only case of the kind that I have 
heard of, although these birds breed in fresh water lakes and in rivers, in 
which they remain at the season of reproduction about two months. 
In the beginning of April, the Velvet Ducks, which are gregarious, collect 
in large flocks, for the purpose of removing to their northern breeding places, 
and as they fly steadily onwards, you may see thousands passing at short 
distances from the shores, and forming an almost continuous line, each flock 
composed of twenty or thirty individuals, which fly low and irregularly, 
ranged in an angular form. While on the Bay of Fundy, I went with my 
party to a projecting cape, round which these birds passed during our stay, 
from daylight until evening. When it blows hard from the sea, the Ducks 
come near to the shore, and afford abundant opportunities to such sports- 
men as are fond of shooting them. 
As we approached the shores of Labrador, we found the waters covered 
with dense flocks of these birds, and yet they continued to arrive there from 
the St. Lawrence for several days in succession. We were all astonished at 
their numbers, which were such that we could not help imagining that all 
the Velvet Ducks in the world were passing before us. This was about the 
middle of June, which I thought late for them, but the season had been 
tardy, and the fishermen informed us, that when the weather is warmer, 
these birds pass a fortnight earlier. The greater number merely appear for 
a few days on their way farther north, but some remain to breed on the 
