78 BIRDS OF P. F. ISLAND.

prized eider down of commerce. The flocks come round our shores in autumn, and are here early in the spring, when the ice—laden bays and misty air resemble their home of the North. They are quiet northern birds, loving to sit in the lee of the floes, uttering not a sound till dusk of evening when they call their missing mates to the nightly gathering.

The Black Scoter is a beautiful velvety-black bird7 with a prominent, orange-colored gibbosity at the base of its bill. It is common in the late fall, and probably stays in the Gulf during mild winters. The Velvet Scoter, called “Sea-Coot,” is quite common in autumn and spring. It is distinguished by a large white patch on the wing and another under the eye.

The Surf Duck is another Scoter, distinguished by having only a white patch on the forehead and another on the nape. It is common here in the fall with the general crowd of ducks that swarm the bays at that time.

The Red—breasted Merganser (Magus scrmtu’r) is much smaller than the boreal Goosander, and is not a winter bird with us. Merganscrs come

into our waters with the first breaking of the ice,