The main breeding grounds are the wide tundras of Northern Europe and Siberia, but a few pairs nest in the north of Scotland. The nest is usually placed on an islet in a small lake or mere, and composed of a few tufts of moss and heather lined with down. The eggs, eight or nine in number, are yellowish white in colour. As a rule it is a silent species, but during the breeding season the male utters a flute-like “tui, tui, tui.”
COMMON SCOTER
Œdemia nigra
The male of this species is of a deep black all over, whence it is often locally known as the “Black Duck.” Bill black with a bright patch of orange yellow down the centre of the upper mandible. The female and young are sooty brown and lack the orange on the bill. Length 20 in.; wing 9 in.
THE VELVET SCOTER
Œdemia fusca (Linnæus)
This species closely resembles the last in habits, but is much scarcer round our coasts and generally keeps farther out to sea.
It is a rather larger bird than the Common Scoter, and of a dense velvety black, with a small white spot behind each eye and a white bar across the wing. The bill is orange yellow, with a large black basal knob and a narrow dark line along the culmen. Legs orange. The female is brown, rather lighter underneath, and has a dull white patch before, and a smaller one behind, each eye. Bill dark. Legs reddish. Length 22 in.; wing 10·75 in.
THE SURF SCOTER
Œdemia perspicillata (Linnæus)
This North American species has on several occasions occurred on our coasts.
The male may be at once distinguished from the other Scoters by the presence of a broad patch of white on the forehead and another on the nape. In the female the nape patch is present though often indistinct. There is no white bar across the wing. Length 21 in.; wing 9·5 in.