Orkney and Shetland Islands to breed ;_.and I am only acquainted
with one récord-óf their pröducirig. their young vtiail
Scotland, which is that by Mr. Selby, in. his/notiee of' the
birds found when exploring Suthérlandshire in «the monthsof
June 1834. “ A single female was ’ shot1 by^Sir William
Jardine, in a small loch' between Xioch Hope,, and, Eriboll
she was attended by a young! one,-, which unfortunately, escaped
among the • reeds. This ’|ig| the. first' instance. .»£ ;its
breeding in Britain having been ascertained that I am aware
of.”
Of this species in Scandinavia, Richard Dann, Esq. has
supplied me with the folowing. note 5 The -Scaup Duck,
in its migration south, dries' not make, i ts f appearance on. the
western coast' of Europe -until late in^the winter, andAhen"
only in comparatively small numbers ; its migration appéars
to be more' southerly than westerly. I t breeds on the
swampy lakes towards thé north of. the Bothnian .Gulph, near-
Lulea, in considerable numbers. I have shot the young
there previously, to4heirbeing able-to fly. I have, s,een them
about (lellivara..ahd;Luleaih Small numbers..= Being^vdiving-
duck they avoid th é 'reeds, and keep out4n.the.open 'waiter.
They are, also, .tolerably numerous in the Dofre- -Fi ell monn--
tains, frequenting --and breeding near swampy solitary lakes
as hieh as the birchwood grows. ■ A t. whatever j.season, the
Scaup Duck is shot, it is generally very-.fat; and heavy-. The
eggs are five or six in number;
Mr. Procter sent me word that the Scaup Duck is a .very
common species in Iceland, whére it breeds either among the
aquatic herbage, or the large’ stones, near the. edge of- fresh
water, making little ór nó nest, but a .quantify of down covering
the eggs, which are from five to eight in number : an ègg
brought from Iceland by Mr. Procter, and figured in Mr.
Hewitson’s work, is of' a uniform clay .brown eolour, two
inches’and -^three-eighths in length, by one inch and five
eighths in breadth, ■S
Mr. Charles r)Drosier, who gives, in the fourth volume of
the Naturalist, a 'brief :skëtbhf'> of a voyage across the North
and ? Baltic ||lfa%'is»ys, that large flocks of Scaup Ducks were
sefen' streaming• Over the waterdal thé vessel entered thé gulf
of1 Finland;'in the month of August, and. others were seen
oni t liS ^ ^ ^ ^ ‘^They are kno^b; tothe common in Russia,
Siberia' and' southwards |¥© Germany; and M. Temminck
mentions 'tHaththcy1 arb# abündanti in Holland': In France*
thöyf&rG rho|rl||ic^fi'ricd ebisf, ;arid the’Scaup Duck is
included amorig theafefrds'*©f ^witz^®phd,’and Italy.
!- 'This ^ pw ^H s - commpfil in ^^M^lAmierdca^from the fiur-
^^dntries it^ lth è l^ b th e ^ ^ f® Ó £ ' ‘ffië Union,*- depending on
th^s1Éfs<Mfll®heiy^^‘
* '• 1 n the adult male the b ill® pale blue in form, narrowest
atMhéiwA;' d^uwl- JC'misfderSbl'y ltowards the point, being
aièéïly^óne jthird <wider^;^ffi^ nail 'GW^êd’^and^ black"; the
irides#^yilbw4;' tMe^lead'raaïd . the'ilnehk: all* ’round, as well as
theiupper part ofS^hl^Brëait arid back,'black; the cheeks and
sm^'dfi\fhe^rieCk Iglfisi^ ^w‘5?fch rich^greeri.;' the -rest of the
Islpki and th,é*scapulars ^spotted? and»' striped with broadish
htóèk lineri^orié^a1 grourid''If*white; withic&n^fdefable intervals
bètve^ii^liéaririés^^^l^^win^éöverts' ‘of much- darker - grey
than., the': b a c k ; the;' v^SIr-primaïiés^ brownish-black ; the? ie-?
coridmabs whitè, forming the speculuiri; but tipped with
black JNMiais ‘ris' dark a grey as the smaller wing-coverts;
rump‘ and upper tail-coveit's'' blank’; tail-feathers brownish-
black; breast, side'l^b'élow the wing, and the flanks pure
white ;^5he portioihof the belly behind the legs marked with
greyish linris^on :a ground of white; .under tail-coverts black;
legs and xoris bluish-black|' the* intervening membranes darker.
The whole length eighteen .inches. From the carpal joint to