THE VELVET SCOTER.
The VELVET SCOTER (Oidemia fusca), one of the species most common in Great Britain, is coal-black, with the exception of a spot beneath the eye, and another on the wing, which are white; the beak is bright yellowish red, marked with black at the edges and at its base; the feet are pale flesh-red, varied with black at the joints; the eye is pearl-white. The female is dark brown, with the exception of a white spot in the region of the ear, a white patch upon the wing, a yellowish bridle-streak, and a grey place upon the centre of the breast. Her eye is brown, her beak black, and her foot greenish yellow. The length of this species is twenty-four inches; the breadth forty inches; the length of the wing twelve inches, and that of the tail three inches and a half. The range of the Velvet Scoter extends from the northern parts of Scandinavia eastward as far as America. In the north of Russia and Siberia it is common. During its excursions it not only visits our shores, but goes still further southwards, and has occasionally been seen even upon the coasts of Spain and in Greece, but rarely shows itself inland. It makes its appearance in our latitudes late in the year, generally about the middle of November or the beginning of December, and returns to its northern home early in the spring. In the neighbourhood of the Gulf Stream, where the sea remains open, it may be met with throughout the winter, frequenting the fjords and bays, sometimes in numerous flocks, at others only in small parties, and seldom visits the shores.
The Velvet Scoter walks and flies badly, but swims well and dives admirably. Naumann states that it is less shy than the generality of its race, a statement which we cannot subscribe to; in Norway, at least, we have always observed it to be one of the most timid and circumspect of diving birds. The food of these Ducks consists principally of bivalve shell-fish; in their breeding-places they may likewise procure insects, worms, and probably small fishes; but it is upon the bivalve molluscs that they chiefly feed, and to obtain these they will even leave their brooding-ground and fly out to sea. They have also been observed to feed upon vegetable substances.
Upon the mountain lakes of Southern Norway the Velvet Scoters breed with tolerable regularity; and further to the north there is hardly a sheet of water of this description, if not too remote from the sea, upon which their young are not to be found. About the middle of June their rudely-constructed nests may be met with hidden in bushes or high grass, or amid tufts of rushes. The[Pg 167] nest itself is constructed of coarse sticks, stalks, and leaves, loosely heaped together, and lined with down plucked from the body of the female. The eight or ten eggs constituting a brood are elongated, smooth, and shining, and of a reddish yellow colour. The young remain in their native lakes until fully able to fly, and do not betake themselves to the sea till the end of October.
The FEN DUCKS (Aythya) are handsome, strongly-built birds, with moderately long beaks, which are not dilated at the base; short, broad-soled feet; moderately long, pointed wings, and smooth plumage.
The range of the members of this group extends from the Arctic Circle to the tropics. They do not inhabit very high latitudes, and only visit the south during their migrations. They may, therefore, be considered as properly belonging to the temperate zone. During the winter months they are to be met with in Southern Russia and the low countries bordering on the Danube, also in Greece, South Italy, Spain, and throughout the north of Africa. These birds make their migrations by night, great numbers of them flying together in large flocks, generally without any regular order, but sometimes arranged in converging oblique lines. In the spring they are usually seen in pairs or in small parties. During the summer they visit lakes of fresh water, large ponds, morasses, or fens having a considerable surface of water of sufficient depth, sometimes resorting to smaller ponds which may happen to be in the neighbourhood. As regards their locomotive powers, these Ducks are decidedly the best endowed of their family—they can walk tolerably well, but, being very unwieldy, they do not willingly come upon dry land, and then only to repose upon some sandbank, or beat up any masses of reeds that may be lying on the margin of the pond. When swimming their body is not so deeply immersed as is that of some of their congeners; they cut through the waves, however, with the same rapidity, and dive as quickly as any of their neighbours. Their flight is hasty and performed by frequent strokes of their wings, that make a perceptible rushing sound, but do not propel them very quickly through the air; nevertheless, they do not seem to become fatigued so quickly as might be expected.
During the summer time the Fen Ducks live almost entirely on vegetable substances; bulbous roots, buds, and tender shoots of trees, succulent leaves, blossoms and seeds of water-plants, constitute the staple of their diet; they will, however, likewise catch aquatic insects, fishes, and pond mollusca; in fact, they seem to like variety. During their migrations they appear more partial to animal food, and when they indulge in this to any extent, their flesh, at other times excellent food, acquires a somewhat disagreeable flavour.
Their breeding-time begins late in the season, generally about the middle of May, when they usually construct their nests among the sedges and reeds that grow upon the margins of the marsh or pond which they may have selected for their residence. Whether this be fresh water or salt seems to be to them a matter of no consequence. Sometimes they will build in situations frequented by man, sometimes by the side of very small ponds, but in the latter case they soon remove their young ones to a more roomy locality. After their first arrival they spend a long time in the society of other species of Ducks, apparently without ever thinking of the great object of their visit. Towards the end of April they become restless and lively, and the males begin to utter their amorous call, the flock separates into pairs, which at once set to work in earnest to construct their nests. There does not seem to be any fighting amongst the males; the females quietly select their mates, and the espoused couple immediately resort to their building ground. The nest is usually a mere pile of sedges, stalks of reeds, hay, straw, and leaves, slightly hollowed at the top, and warmly lined with feathers. The eggs, eight or ten in number, sometimes in exceptional cases more, sometimes fewer, are moderately large, roundish, and of a dull grey or olive-green. So long as the female continues to[Pg 168] lay, her mate remains true to his duty, and carefully watches over her safety. When, however, she begins to sit upon her eggs, the male deserts his charge, leaves her while he amuses himself in the society of other roving males, and finally troubles himself no more about either mother or eggs. After the lapse of twenty-two or twenty-three days, the young ones make their appearance, and on the very day of their birth are to be seen paddling about upon the surface of the water, but at first they do not venture beyond the shelter of the floating herbage at the side of the pond. Soon, however, their parent, by the pressure of her body, crushes down the reeds and water-plants, so as to make a sort of bed, to be used as a sleeping or resting place, and here she may be found sitting, closely surrounded by her little flock, as they sun themselves and preen their feathers. If disturbed in their snug retreat, they endeavour to save themselves by repeatedly diving, and if the threatened danger continues, the mother hastens to lead them to a more secluded spot, always, if possible, making their way thither by water, never, except in cases of urgent necessity, trusting to the dry land. The size of the young Ducks rapidly increases, and they do not learn to fly until they have attained their full growth. Owing to the excellence of their flesh, the chase after these birds is eagerly followed up, and the sportsman is able sometimes to bring down several of them at once, seeing that, if pursued, the young birds always crowd closely together. Occasionally they are taken in considerable numbers by means of decoys.
THE RED-HEADED DUCK, DUNBIRD, OR POCHARD.