The Old Squaw is a handsome and noisy species and demands attention wherever it is found. It usually feeds in deep water, and therefore is found but rarely in smaller ponds or along streams. The under wing-coverts are dark, and there is no speculum in the wing. Its rapid flight carries it along, a few feet above the water, at from 35 to 60 miles an hour, perhaps faster, and it alights with a swish. It is an expert diver.
Old Squaw, Winter Plumage
THE SCOTERS
Three species of scoter occur in Pennsylvania. They are diving ducks and are usually to be found only on the larger bodies of water. As a rule, they are not common; they are fond of salt water, and are commonly found in the bays along the Atlantic coast. The adult males all have grotesque and highly colored bills. All scoters are commonly called “Black Ducks” in the interior; along the coast they are called also “Sea Coots.” Scoters will, as a rule, be found in large, raft-like flocks.
AMERICAN SCOTER
Oidemia americana Swainson
Description.—Male: Black, with rich purplish reflections; ridges among feathers of neck, bill black, with knob at base of upper mandible peach-yellow; feet brownish red; eyes dark brown. Female and young: Gray-brown in general appearance, with cheek region whitish, sharply defined from crown; underparts whitish, irregularly barred and mottled with dusky. Length: 19 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—Rare migrant and winter visitant from November until early April, commonest, perhaps, at Lake Erie and Conneaut Lake.
American Scoter, Male
This is probably the rarest of the scoters in Pennsylvania; further data are desirable.