Genus OIDEMTA, iFIem,
. Chau. Iiill swollen or tuberculated at thé base. large. elevated,
much depressed and flattened, terminated b y a lame-flat dertrum
extreirufcy ¡rouuded and slightly deflected: mimdibit's fawk v.«¡ti m
ÿbFODg, and widely set* Ao stri/n lateral, elevated, oval* iafatttfed mur
Wiitgs o f mean length, concave, acute. T a il short, graduated yen
the centre o f gravity. T a m short. Feet large; o f tour toes/three h
outer toe as long as the rriidcUe one, and mttelt longer than thé ta
large lobated membrane.
' S Ü R F S C O T E R .
T h is curious Dock shouldrather fee- considered 'a* ■&'ÀMGmuifr than as stHrtb' nnlfarm-i:- :>< the
European Continent : it, has, however, fmptcndv «ecwped.-ìto the«ortiimi seai of this portion uè Ojw’év.&è
and occasionally eis .far smith at.the Orkiwjs and oSfcer Scottish islands i" we have wiimelv«» mwrcd ;i.
specimen (a female) killed its flBFFirth of Forth. In its gelerai form, economy, and habits, it is intimately
allied to both the Velvet and Seffer Decks, and the three species have beer w hh. go'gd reason s.euarided by
Dr. Fleming- into a distinct genus» 'Me one who has attentively investigated the great family of thè Anatldì:.
can have failed, to remark 'into how many distinct groups òr genera even the European examples naturally
arrange themselves, each group being eharueteriawl by its diversity of form, habits/and manners. Of these
genera, one of the best 'defined''afe* well as most conspicuous is that designated Oidemia. The species of this
genus are strictly oceanic, and are expressly adapted for obtaining their food far from shore, being provided
-with an entirely watcr.proof plumage, and endowed with most extraordinary powers o f swimming and diving.
Unlike the'true Ducks, they seldom Visit the inland waters, or feed upon terrestrial mollusco or vegetables,
hut keep out at sea, and diving to a very great depth, procure bivalves, moHusea, and submarine vegetables :
they appear to bt particularly partial to the common mussel, which wtihave taken froth their throats and
It is for the purpose of rtiwn this shelly food that the gizzard is not oiily .extBiSJiithìy giiiità wi-ncl
muscular, but is also lined with a dense eodatiseos nnél;: •'•-«hcblv òf grmduut ilei .1,.ié :ìk- . • 1 bodies
subjected to its action. 'Fbe arctic regions of America appear .fa- tit«: fesiùteé ii- .'¡peck*
particularly about Hudson's Day and Baffin's Bay.
.Little is known respecting its niditication, hist it is said to form its neat near i?s« shore,- o f grasse» -fined
with down ; and that the eggs are whit«;, «ssd eight òr ten in number.
The wings are short, convex, and pomted, .md idthocigh they afford the bird tolerable powers ó f flight, they
are equally adapted for an organ o f progression under water, an. element to which, rather lha*i to thè air,
it frequently trusts for safety.
»pecics by a beak exeeedipgly rich in colour and. prnanienlal. ir. ita » » A ,,.» . anil a none o f the specie» i»
this peculiarity more conspicuous than in the Surf Scoter ; this feature, however, > found id th e .miles alone,
the females o f the three species, which, we may remark, very closely resemble each o ther,-h av ing the teak
plain, and nearly uniform in colour.
The adult plumage, which presents no difference iu summer and winter, may be thus described :
The niidc h a s the bill scarlet and yellowish- white, with ft large black mark - on each stife of the- swollen
basal portion ; the whole of the plumage glossy Mack, with the exception of a patch o f white tin the'lo p of
the -head and another on thè occiput ; the iride.? greyish, white j legs and toes r e d ; iò£é*digitst membrane
ffladt,
’•The female differs from the male iti having the whole of the plumage dull brow», which l> «jjfchtcet about
the foce, cheeks, and under surface ; the beak dark olive ; feet greyish brown.
The Plate represents a male and female, rather more than three fourths o f the natural sb-v .