208 
BAY AND SEA DUCKS 
generally over a bed of mussels, which they secure by diving, and which 
constitute their chief food. 
1890. Mackay, G. H., Auk, VII, 315-319 (habits in Mass.). 1910. 
Townsend, C. W., Auk, XXVII, 177-181 (courtship). 
162. Somateria spectabilis {Linn.). King Eider. Ad. d\ — Region 
about base of upper mandible and a large V-shaped mark on throat black; 
top of head bluish gray; cheeks greenish; neck all around white; front and 
sides of breast creamy buff; upper back, sides of rump, and wing-coverts 
white; rest of plumage black. Ad. $. — Head and throat buffy ochraceous, 
the former streaked with black; back black, the feathers widely margined 
with ochraceous or rufous; underparts varying from brownish gray to fus- 
cous, more or less washed, especially on breast, with ochraceous or rufous. 
Im. — Paler and with less ochraceous. L., 23*00; W., 10*80; Tar., 1*80; B., 
1*30. ■ 
Remarks. — The adult male of this species may at once be known by its 
bluish gray head and the V-shaped mark on its throat. Females and young 
birds resemble those of the two preceding species, but are to be distinguished 
by the generally unstreaked throat and the feathering of the side of the base 
of the bill, which in this species does not, as in the two preceding, reach to 
the nostril. 
Range. — N. part of N. Hemisphere. Breeds along the whole coast of n. 
Siberia, Bering Sea (St. Lawrence Island), and Arctic coast of Am. from 
Icy Cape e. to Melville' Island, Wellington Channel, n. Greenland, nw. 
Hudson Bay, and n. Ungava; winters on Pacific coast from Aleutian Islands 
to Kadiak Island, in the interior rarely to the Great Lakes, and from s. 
Greenland and Gulf of St. Lawrence s. regularly to Long Island, rarely to 
Ga. ; accidental in Calif, and Iowa. 
Long Island, rare but regular W. V., Nov. 13-Apl. 21. Cambridge, 
casual in early winter. 
Nest , on the ground, among rocks or herbage. Eggs , 6-10, light olive- 
gray to grayish green, 3*12 x 1*92 (Davie). Date , Pt. Barrow, Alaska, 
June 25. 
While in our waters this species does not differ from the preceding 
in habits. 
163. Oidemia amerieana Swains. American Scoter. Ad. <?.— 
Entire plumage black, feathers on side of bill extending little if any forward 
beyond corner of mouth; bill black; upper mandible orange or yellowish at 
the base. Ad. $ and Im. — Above chest and sides grayish brown; cheeks 
whitish, sharply defined from crown; belly whitish faintly barred with 
dusky. L., 19*00; W., 9*00; Tar., 1*70; B. along culmen, 1*75; B. along side, 
1*85. 
Range. — N. N. Am. and E. Asia. Breeds in ne. Asia and Kotzebue 
Sound to Aleutian Islands, including Near Islands; also on w. shore of 
Hudson Bay, Ungava, and N. F. ; winters on Asiatic coast to Japan and from 
islands of Bering Sea s. rarely to Santa Catalina Island, Calif. ; in the interior 
not rare on the Great Lakes, and casual or accidental in Mo., La v Nebr., 
Colo., and Wyo.; on the Atlantic coast abundant during migration from 
N. F., and Maine, s. (rarely to Fla.). 
Washington, casual W. V. Long Island, common W. V., Oct. through 
Apl. Ossining, rare T. V., Oct. Cambridge, occasional in fall. 
Nest, on the ground, near water. Eggs, “6-10, pale dull buff or pale 
brownish buff, 2*55 x 1*80” (Ridgw.). Date, Cape Lisburne, Alaska, June 15. 
All three species of Surf Scoters, or “Coots,” are abundant winter 
residents off the coasts of the New England and Middle States. At this 
time their habits are practically alike — indeed, they are often found 
