LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL 97 



able that many of them were on their way farther north along the 

 coast. 



Courtship. — The courtship of the eider has a certain resemblance 

 to that of the goldeneye, but it is not so spectacular. It can be 

 observed during the latter part of May and in June along the south- 

 ern coast of the Labrador Peninsula. It is thus described by Doctor 

 Townsend (1910) : 



The actual courtship of the eider may be recognized from afar by the love 

 note of the male, which can be expressed by the syllables aah-ou or ah-ee-ou, 

 frequently repeated, and, while low and pleasing in tone, its volume is so great 

 that it can be heard at a considerable distance over the water. On a calm 

 day when there were many eiders about, the sound was almost constant. 

 While the syllables aah-ou express very well the usual notes, there is much 

 variation in tone, from a low and gentle pleading to a loud and confident asser- 

 tion. In fact, the tones vary much as do those of the human voice, and there 

 is a very human quality in them, so much so that when alone on some solitary 

 isle I was not infrequently startled with the idea that there were men near at 

 hand. 



But the showy drake eider does not depend on his voice alone ; he displays 

 his charms of dress to best advantage and indulges in well-worn antics. It 

 always seemed to me a pity that the magnificent black belly should disappear 

 when the drake is swimming on the water, and the bird evidently shares my 

 sentiment, for during courtship he frequently displays this black shield by 

 rising up in front, so that at times in his eagerness he almost stands upon his 

 tail. To further relieve his feelings he throws back his head and occasionally 

 flaps his wings. The movements of the head and neck are an important part 

 of the courtship, and although there is considerable variation in the order 

 and extent of the performance, a complete antic is somewhat as follows : The 

 head is drawn rigidly down, the bill resting against the breast; the head is 

 then raised up until the bill points vertically upward, and at this time the 

 bill may or may not be opened to emit the love notes. Directly after this 

 the head is occasionally jerked backward a short distance, still rigidly, and 

 then returned to its normal position. All this the drake does swimming near 

 the duck, often facing her in his eagerness, while she floats about indifferently, 

 or at times shows her interest and appreciation by facing him and throwing 

 up her head a little in a gentle imitation of his forcefulness. 



In walking around the shore of Eskimo Island, one of the Mingan 

 group of southern Labrador, on June 3, 1909, we found the water 

 everywhere dotted with these splendid birds, all intent on courtship. 

 In one cove there were 104 birds, in another 80. Only one eider was 

 in partially immature plumage. The birds were for the most part 

 in pairs, but there were frequent groups of 3 or 4 males ardently 

 courting 1 female. There were also occasional coteries of 15 or 20 

 where the sexes were about evenly divided. 



Nesting. — It is evident that the eider prefers to nest in communi- 

 ties, but where diminished in numbers from persecution they nest 

 singly. On some small islands off the southern coast of Labrador 

 we found, in 1909, 20 or 30 nests in the space of an acre; this, too, 

 when the birds were much harassed and evidently less numerous than 



