JO THE niRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Rather smaller than the Common Eider, the drake can, 

 without difficulty, be recognised by the prominent orange boss 

 or lobe on its flesh-coloured or orange bill ; a fringe of black 

 frames the knob, showing it up. The drake is also blacker on 

 the wings and back than the Common Eider. The duck 

 cannot be safely distinguished on the water, but in the hand 

 the length of the wedge in the centre of the bill is a good 

 character — it reaches to the nostrils. The habits and food, so 

 far as they have been observed, differ little from those of the 

 Eider ; it is ungainly, especially on land, but flies quickly, 

 close to the water. Seebohm and others thought that a few 

 pairs may occasionally nest on outlying British islands, but the 

 evidence, the presence of birds in summer, is inconclusive. Off 

 the Fames and in other places drake King-Eiders have 

 remained with other birds until June or even July, and Slater 

 noticed the same habit in Iceland, but points out that these 

 drakes are not fully mature. The natives imagined that the 

 presence of the rarer birds favourably affected the fertility of 

 the other Eiders. 



The head and neck of the adult drake are white, with black 

 round the knob on the bill and a strong black chevron on the 

 chin ; the crown is lavender, the cheeks suffused with delicate 

 green. The upper back, a patch on the wings, and another on 

 the sides of the abdomen are white, the breast is buff, and the 

 rest of the under and upper parts, including the elongated 

 secondaries, are blackish brown. The duck is brown, palest 

 on the head and neck, and redder than most female Eiders, but 

 these last vary considerably. The legs of the drake are orange, 

 of the duck greenish grey, and her bill is greenish tinged with 

 yellow. The irides in both sexes are usually said to be yellow, 

 though others, including Coues, affirm that they are brown ; 

 observation of the living birds should decide it. Length, 22-24 

 ins. Wing, 10*5 ins. Tarsus, i*8 ins. 



