56 
AMERICAN SCOTER DUCK. 
ihe tip rounded, the unguis very broadly elliptical. Nostrils medial, ellip- 
tical, pervious, near the ridge. 
Head large, oblong, compressed, rounded above. Eyes of moderate size, 
Neck short and thick. Body large and much depressed. Feet very short, 
placed rather far behind ; tarsus very short, much compressed, having ante- 
riorly in its whole length a series of small scutella and above the outer toe 
a partial series, the rest covered with reticular angular scales. Hind toe 
small, with a free membrane beneath ; anterior toes nearly double the length 
of the tarsus, connected by reticulated membranes having a sinus on their 
free margins, the inner with a lobed marginal membrane, the outer with a 
thick margin, the third and fourth about equal and longest. Claws small, 
that of the first toe very small and curved, of the middle toe largest with a 
dilated inner edge, of the rest slender, all rather obtuse. 
Plumage soft, dense, blended, slightly glossed. Feathers on the head and 
neck of a velvety texture, being very small, oblong, with the terminal fila- 
ments disunited. Wings rather short, narrow, and pointed ; primary quills 
curved, strong, tapering, pointed, the first with the inner web cut out 
towards the tip, leaving the feather less than a quarter of an inch in breadth 
at the distance of an inch and a half from its extremity ; the second longest, 
exceeding the first by half an inch, and the third by one-twelfth, the rest 
rapidly graduated secondaries broad and rounded, the inner elongated and 
tapering. Tail very short, graduated, acuminate, of sixteen pointed feathers. 
The bulging part of the upper mandible is bright orange, paler above, that 
colour extending to a little before the nostrils ; the rest of the upper man- 
dible, including its basal margin to the breadth of from three to two twelfths 
of anTnch, black, as is the lower mandible. Iris brown. Feet brownish- 
black. The general colour of the plumage is black, on the lower parts 
tinged with brown ; the inner webs of the quills brownish-grey. 
Length to end of tail 19 inches, to end of wings 17, to end of claws 20 ; 
extent of wings 33^ ; bill along the ridge p wing from flexure 9 r 4 a ; tail 4 ; 
bare part of tibia r \ ; tarsus 1 T 9 2 ; hind toe 81 , its claw ; second toe 2 T 2 2 , 
its claw t 4 2 ; third toe 2^2, its claw fi ; fourth toe 2fL its claw fi, Weight 
2 lbs. 9 oz. 
Adult Female. 
The female, which is a little smaller than the male, has scarcely any pro- 
tuberance at the base of the bill, which is entirely brownish-black. The 
upper parts are of a light sooty-brown colour, the lower light brownish- 
grey. 
Length to end of tail 17 inches ; extent of wings 29f. 
This species differs very little from the European Scoter, being nearly of 
the same size, proportions, and colours. The male differs from that of the 
