Bulk and surface absorption coefficients of zinc selenide have been measured by 10.6-microm laser calorimetry at temperatures between 200 degrees C and 300 degrees C. The surface absorption characteristic shows evidence of the disappearance of an absorbing species at temperatures above 120 degrees C and the thermal activation of a second species above 200 degrees C with an activation energy near 0.13 eV. The bulk characteristic shows a monotonic increase with temperature that is consistent in its general form with the predictions of multiphonon theory, but with systematic deviations. These deviations are explained by the combination of a temperature independent extrinsic absorption and a well defined peak near 960 cm(-1) in the room temperature absorption spectrum.