146 SOMATERIA. EIDER. 



oil the left side ; the bronchi of moderate length and con- 

 siderable width. 



Nostrils oblongo-clliptical, large, submedial. Eyes small. 

 Aperture of ear small. Legs very short, and placed rather 

 far behind ; tarsus very short, compressed, with small scu- 

 tella. Hind toe small, slender, with a broad lobiform mem- 

 brane, connected at the base with the bilobate marginal 

 membrane of the inner toe ; anterior toes long, the third 

 nearly double the length of the tarsus, all scutellate ; inter- 

 digital membranes emarginate. Claws small, arcuate, com- 

 pressed, obtuse, that of the middle toe with the inner edge 

 dilated. 



Plumage dense, firm, on the head and neck short and 

 blended; the feathers on the other parts ovato-oblong, 

 rounded, dense, somewhat glossy. Wings rather short, very 

 convex, narrow, pointed ; primaries acuminate, the first and 

 second longest ; inner secondaries elongated, tapering, curved 

 outwards. Tail very short, much rounded or tapering, of 

 sixteen or fourteen stiffish, narrow, pointed feathers. 



The males have the plumage varied with white and black, 

 while that of the females is spotted or streaked with dusky 

 and dull reddish or yellowish-grey. These birds inhabit the 

 cold and frigid zones of both continents, living in the open 

 sea, or in channels and bays, during the greater part of the 

 year, and feeding chiefly on bivalve shell-fish, for which they 

 dive. In summer most of them betake themselves to the 

 arctic regions, where they nestle on the shores of the sea, on 

 islands, or in the turf of rocky places, forming a bulky nest, 

 lined with down, and laying a moderate number of large, 

 smooth, greenish-white eggs. Their flight is steady, direct, 

 moderately rapid, and performed by quick beats. They 

 swim and dive expertly, remain long under the w^ater, and are 

 more or less gregarious, even in the breeding season. The 

 down, which lines the nests, or is inteiiningled with the 

 eggs, and has been plucked by the female from her breast, 

 is collected in large quantities in some northern localities. 



