162 S U R F DUCK.
numerous did ihey become; and (if the many kinds that presented
themselves to our anxious gaze, the Surf Duck was certainly not the
least numerous. It is true that in the noble bays of our own coast,
in the Sound, between No»'York and the Hook, (Writhe broader waters
of the Chesapeake, and beyond them to the iuouth?^"f the Mississippi,
I had seen thousands of Surf Ducks but the numbers that passed the
shores of Labrador, bound for the far north, exceeded all my previous
conceptions. , i
Eor more than a week after we had anchored in the lovely harbour
:of Little Maeatina, I hail.betm anxiously searching for thu nest of this
species, but in vaiit.: the millions! that sped along the shores had no
regard to my wishes» At length 1.found that a few pairs liad remained
in,the neighbourhood, and one morning,, while in the company of Gaptain
KMKRY-, searching- for the nests of the Red-breasted Merganser,
over a vast, oozy and treacherous fresh-water marsh; I suddenly started
a, female Surf Duck from her treasure; We -were then about ®® miles
distant from our. harbour, from which our party had come in two boats,
and fully foe and a.half miles from the waters of the Gu'.MÎf St Lawrence.
[ The. marsh was about three miles in length, and so unsafe that
more than once we both feared, as we were: crossing it, that: we might
never reach its margin. The nest, was snugly placed; amid the tall
leaves of a himeh i>f grass, and raised fully four inches above its roots.
I t was. entirely composed' of withered and rotten weeds, the former
being circularly,:arranged over the latter, producing a welkreunded
cavity, sis. inches .in diameter, by nro and a half in depth. The borders
of this inner cup wore lined with tlie dowr./of tho-Osird. in the
same manner as the. Eider Duck's nest, and in it lay live eggs, the
smallest number I have ever found in any (tuck's nest; They were
two inches and two and a half eighths in length,, by one inch and fiveeighths
in their greatest breadth!; more equally rèuàidediat both ends
than usual ; ; She shell perfectly smooth, and of a uniform pale yellowish
or cream colour. I took them on board,, along with the female
bird,, which was: shot as she rose from her nastr We saw no male'bird
near the spot. ; but in the course of the same day, met with several
males by themselves, about four miles distant from the marsh, as we
wefie returning to the harbour. This induced me to believe that, like
the Eider and other ducks that breed in Labrador, thé males abandon
the females as soon as incubatiort commences. I regret that, tiot-
S U R J ? DUCK. 168
withstanding all my further exertions, I did not saceeed in discovering
more nests or youpg birds.
In the States of Maine and Massachusetts, this, speeies.is best known
hy the n^e?|o} " Butter^boat-billed Goo«', The" gunners of Long
Island and New-J.ersey call ittìì^Blaek. Sea Duck. It is often seen
along the ¡coast of South Carolina, where my friend JOHN BACHMAN
has met with it. The Surf Duck, is a powerful swimmer and an expert
diver. It is. frefttéBtly observed lushing at the depth of several
fathoms, .and it floats buoyantly among the surf or the raging billows,
where it so,ems, a.s unemaerned as if it were on. the most tranquil
water?, .. It rises, on wing, however, with, considerable difficulty, and
in this respect resembles, the Velvet Duck ; but when once fairly under
way, it flies with rapidity and to a great distance, passing close to the
water during heavy gales, , but at the height of forty or fifty yards in
calm ami pleasant weather. It is an uncommonly shy bird, and therefore
difficult to be obtained, unless shot at while, on wing, or when
asleeivand as it wore at anchor on our>qys, or near the shore, for it
dives as suddenly.-as the Velvet and Scoter Ducks, eluding«ven,the best
percussion-locked guns. The Iemale, which wis. .killed as she flew off
from t i e nest, uttered a rough uncouth guttural cry, somewhat rusom..
bling „that, ,Qff Goosander on similar occasions; and I have never
heard any other sound from either sex.
The migration, of the Surf Ducks eastward from .our Southern coast,
begins, at a very early season,, as in-the beginning of March none are
to be seen in the New Orleans markets; When I was at Eastport in
Maine,on the 7th of May 1883, they were all proceeding eastward.
How far up the St Lawrence they advance in winter I have not learned,
but they must give a decided preference to the waters of that noble
streàm, if I may judge by the vast numbers which I saw apparently
gaming from them as wo approached the Labrador coast. I have never
seen this Species on any fresh-water lake or river, in any part of the
interior, and therefore! consider it as truly a marine duck.
During their stay with, us;, they are. always soon in considerable
numbers., together, and, unless perhaps during the breeding season,
they seem to be gregariotis| for even during their travels northward
they always move in large and compact bodies. When I was at Newfoundland,
I was assured thjit they breed there in considerable numbers
on the lakes of the interior. My friend Professor MACCHLLOCH,
L 2