History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

Oidemia. BIRDS. PALMIP1DES. 119Leith is said to have seen a pelican,of a brown colour, fly over his head inthe month of May at Blackheath in Kent, supposed to be the P.fuscits, anAmerican species —Mont. Supp. Orn. Diet.Gen. LXXXI. OIDEMIA. Scoter.—Bill tumid at thebase above.173. O.fusca. Velvet Scoter.— Plumage black, with a whitewing spot.Anas niger Aldrov. Will. Orn. 278—A- fusca, Linn. Syst.i. 196. Perm.Brit. Zool. ii. 583. Temm. Orn. ii. 855. (Trachea, Lin. Trans, iv,tab. xv. f.3-7.) E, Velvet Duck, Double Scoter, Great Black Duck ;W, Hwyad felfedog A regular winter visitant of the coast.Size of the domesticated drake. Bill yellow, the swellingsat the base andmargins black, the nail red. Irides and legs red, claws and webs black. Belowthe eye a white crescent. Female with the plumage, above, dusky ; below,whitish. Tumour at the base of the bill less. Breeds, according toTemminck, in the Arctic Regions, but it is not mentioned by Fabricius orSabine.174. O. nigra. Black Scoter.— Plumage entirelyblack.A. niger, Will. Orn. 180 A. nigra,Linn. Syst.1. 196. Penn. Brit.Zool. ii. 584. Temm. Orn. ii. 853— E, Scoter, Black Diver ; W, Yfor Hwyad ddu—A winter visitant of the coast.Length 22, breadth 34 inches ; weight 3 pounds. Bill black, orange in themiddle! Irides brown, eyelids yellow. Legs and feet dusky, the websblack. Tail of 16 pointed feathers, cuneiform. Female inclining to dusky,the knob at the base indistinct. Breeding place unknown.175. O. lencocephala. White-throated Duck.— Bill blue.Front, cheeks, and throat, white.Will. Orn. An. 367. {Mont. Orn. Diet. Supp.) Penn. Brit. Zool. ii. tab.xcviii Anas leuc. Temm. Orn. ii. 859—Rare.Size of the preceding. Bill with the middle at the base hollowed. Iridesyellow. Feet greyish-brown. Crown, nape and lower parts of the neck,black ;the front, cheeks, and throat, white. Breast, upper parts and sidesdark red, waved with dusky. Rump reddish-purple. Tail long, black, conical,with the feathers grooved. Plumage, below, reddish-white. Female,with the crown and nape brown : throat yellowish- white : bill and legs reddishThis species seems to be confounded with the preceding. The descriptionof the female Scoter, by Montagu, has a reference to this species.As a straggler may be noticed the O. perspicillata (A. per. Temm. Orn. ii.853.) It agrees with O. nigra in wanting the wing spot, and in having theplumage black, but the nape and a frontal band are white. The bill is yellow,with a black mark on each side, having in front a space of grey. It issaid by Temminck to have occurred in Orkney.Gen. LXXXII. SOMATERIA. EmER.—Base of thebill extending up the forehead, and divided by a triangularprojection of feathers.176. S. mottissima. Common Eider.— Lateral divisions ofthe bill flattened ; bill and legs dusky green.