86 LAMELLIROSTKAL SWIMMERS — ANSERES. 



where it assembled iu the pools of melted water, in the neighborhood of Bellot's 

 Straits. A few of these Ducks annually breed as far to the south as the Bay of 

 Fundy, where Mr. Cheney has several times during the summer found its nest, and 

 has procured specimens for Mr. Boardman. 



This bird is seen every winter on tlie coast of Massachusetts ; but only as an 

 occasional visitor, and never in any considerable numbers, except about Nantucket. 

 Some four or five — usually young males — are seen almost every winter in the 

 Boston market. 



The Eiders are generally supposed to be exclusively Sea-Ducks — by which name 

 they are universally known on the coast of New England ; and it is not infrequently 

 stated that they are not known to occur in fresh water. However rare these excep- 

 tions may be, the Common Eider, both in Labrador and on the coast of Norway, has 

 been found spending the breeding-season in inland fresh-water marshes, or on the 

 borders of lakes, several miles from the sea. This species furnishes also a noticeable 

 exception to the general rule of its occurrence, in that it has been found in flocks on 

 the waters of Lake Erie, above the Falls of Niagara, several hundred miles from the 

 sea-coast. 



Mr. Charles Linden, of Buffalo, in a letter bearing date of Nov. 21, 1874, writes : 

 "In regard to the occurrence of the King Duck (Somatena spectahllis) on Lake Erie, 

 I saw the bird in question, and it proves to be a young male, with the well-marked 

 characteristics of the species clearly and unmistakably developed. Two flocks of 

 these birds, numbering froni five to eight each, have been observed this month on 

 Niagara Eiver. Two specimens, male and female, both young, and with very imma- 

 ture plumage, were shot two years ago within five miles of Buffalo, and these were 

 found also to belong to the same species — spectabilis. Both were mounted by myself, 

 and are now in the collection of the Buffalo Society of Natural Science." 



Mr. Nelson cites this species also as being a rare winter visitant to Lake Michigan 

 and to other parts of Illinois and Wisconsin. There are also in the Smithsonian Col- 

 lection specimens of young female King Eiders shot in the winter of 1874-1875 on 

 Lake Erie, and of others secured on the Illinois River the same season. 



Mr. Hearne makes mention of this species as being quite common in Hudson's 

 Bay. So far as he had noticed, it visits only the sea-coast, and there feeds on fish 

 and fish-spawn. It breeds in that locality, as he speaks of its eggs as being excellent 

 eating, though the flesh is said not by any means to be held in high esteem. 



Sir John Eichardson speaks of this species as a Sea Dvick, and as having never 

 been known by him to occur in fresh water. Its food — he says — is principally the 

 soft moUusca so common in northern waters. This Duck is said to be only partially 

 migratory, rarely moving farther south than is necessary to enable it to get access to 

 open water. The older birds, in the mature plumage, are supposed to be very rarely 

 met with south of the 59th parallel. However true Richardson's statement may be 

 as a general rule, it is not without a considerable number of exceptions. 



Although rarely taken within the limits of the United States, the King Duck has 

 occasionally been seen as far south as New York. Mr. Giraud mentions having had 

 the good fortune to procure an adult male of this species in perfect plumage, Avhich 

 had been shot on Long Island Sound in the Avinter of 1839. He also states that, 

 during the winter, at Egg Harbor, N. J., as well as on the shores of Long Island, 

 young King Eiders are occasionally observed; but the adult specimen in his pos- 

 session, and one other, were the only individuals in full and mature plumage he had 

 ever kn(jwn to be procured in tlie vicinity of New York. 



In the Appendix to Sir Edward Parry's First Voyage Colonel Sabine states that 



