SCAUP DUCK.
This Duck, the Anas marila of Linnæus, or Fuligula marila of modern naturalists, derives its trivial name from its habit of frequenting the “mussel-scaups,” or “mussel-scalps,” and is tolerably abundant round the British coasts during winter. The adult male is distinguished by having the head and neck black, shot with metallic-green and purple, and the back and scapulars vermiculated with white and black. The general colour of the female is brown, shading into grayish-white on the belly, whilst a broad white band extends round the base of the bill. Scaup Ducks begin to arrive off our more northern coasts in September, but not until a month later in the south. They begin to leave us again in March, and the migration continues through the whole of April into May, the bird thus being one of the last Ducks to retire north in spring. Although by no means unfrequently met with on inland waters during migration and in winter, the Scaup Duck is, for the most part, a dweller on the sea, resorting, by preference, to bays, estuaries, and the mouths of large rivers, especially where a considerable amount of mud is left bare at low water. It is gregarious at this season, often congregating into large flocks, and not unfrequently associates with other Sea Ducks, notably with Wigeon and Pintail. It is a most expert and ready diver, spends most of its time upon the water, and appears always to prefer to dive, rather than to fly, in avoiding pursuit. If compelled to take wing, it rises with much splashing: but, when once fairly in the air, is capable of rapid flight, the quickly-beating pinions making a whistling or rustling sound. The food of the Scaup Duck consists largely of molluscs, but crustaceans and marine plants are also eaten by this species. When thus diving for food, the bird often remains below for a minute at a time. It feeds much at night, and passes pretty regularly from its usual haunts by day to its feeding-places. The note of this Duck is a most harsh and discordant scaup, but during flight or courtship a hoarse and grating kurr is uttered.
The Scaup Duck arrives at its Arctic breeding-grounds with the break-up of the ice. The bird may probably pair for life, as the sexes keep close company all the year. Even at its breeding-grounds it is a social bird, many pairs nesting in a small area, and collecting at certain spots to feed. Its breeding-grounds are on the Arctic tundras, near the rush-and-grass-fringed lakes, amidst the thickets of birches, junipers, and willows. The nest is placed under a bush, or amongst herbage on a bank, and is merely a hollow lined with dry grass and sedge and dead leaves. To this, however, the usual lining of down is added. The eggs, from six to nine in number, are greenish-gray, and of smooth texture. The female, as usual, takes sole charge of the young. The Scaup Duck inhabits, during summer, the Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and America, drawing southwards in winter almost to the tropics.