THE EIDER DUCK 329 



preserved and regularly farmed for tlie sake of their precious 

 down, which is used for stuffing quilts and other purposes, and 

 forms a valuable article of commerce. Only one brood is 

 reared in the year, but the eggs are often taken in districts 

 where the down is collected, to entice the poor birds to 

 produce a further supply for the next clutch of eggs they 

 deposit. 



When the young are hatched the duck conveys them to 

 the sea. This she must do in her bill from many situations 

 where the nest is built high up the rocks. They take to the 

 water at once, and swim about with their parent, diving for 

 food with great agility. As the year draws on, and the 

 Eider Drake has completed his change of plumage, the broods 

 gather into larger flocks for the winter, and spend most of 

 their time on the water. Now the birds often go great 

 distances out to sea, but in stormy weather they frequent the 

 quiet bays and creeks. The birds become much more wild 

 and wary, especially the females. Indeed, so tame are these 

 birds when sitting on their nests that I have frequently 

 stroked them with my hand as they sat most unconcernedly 

 over their eggs. Eider Ducks do not flock much with other 

 birds ; but the rare and still more beautiful > King Eider 

 (^Somateria spcctctbilis), an inhabitant of the arctic regions 

 which sometimes visits the British seas, frequently swims 

 in their company. This latter bird I have seen at St. Kilda 

 durinw the summer ; and I have no hesitation in hazarding 

 the conjecture that its nest will ultimately be discovered 

 within the limits of the British Islands, probably at no very 

 distant date. 



