328 DUCK GROUP 



Atlantic and a considerable stretch of the Polar seas in either direction 

 from this centre. To the eastward, for instance, the range extends to 

 the Kara Sea, on the farther side of Xovaia Zemlia, and in the 

 opposite direction to about the longitude of the Coppermine River, 

 which discharges into the Arctic Archipelago opposite Victorialand. 

 It is true, indeed, that the Greenland eider, as the American bird is 

 commonly called, has been regarded as distinct, but even if this be 

 really the case, it cannot well be considered as anything more than a 

 local race (5. in. dresser i). 



Eider-down, which is grey in colour, is such a valuable product, 

 on account of its elasticity and extreme lightness, that wherever the 

 birds by which it is yielded occur in considerable numbers within reach 

 of human settlements they arc i)rotectcd by law, and consequently tend 

 to increase in numbers. Among localities where the species is thus 

 artificially fostered may be mentioned Iceland, the Faroes, and the 

 islands off the Scandinavian coasts. In its raw state eider-down is 

 worth from twelve to fifteen shillings a pound ; but such is its lightness, 

 that about i^ lbs. is sufificient for a bed-coverlet. 



Only the northern portion of Great Britain lies within the breeding- 

 range of the eider-duck, whose nesting-places occur from the Shetlands 

 and Orkneys in the north along the cast coast of Scotland to the Fame 

 Islands and shores of Northumberland, and also for some distance down 

 the west coast of Scotland, where, indeed, they have of late years tended 

 to increase. To Ireland the species is nothing more than a rare and 

 irregular visitor, although it has been seen on the coasts of all four 

 jirovinces, and on two occasions has been observed inland on the waters 

 of Lough Neagh. November is the earliest season at which these birds 

 have been seen in most parts of Ireland ; and from that month onward 

 they may be observed occasionally during the winter on the coasts of 

 England. Considering that the north of Ireland is only some twenty 

 miles from I slay, where eiders are to be found nesting, it is somewhat 

 surprising that the visits of these birds to the Emerald Isle are so few 

 and far between ; but it may be that the climate is too warm and moist. 



In the main the eider-duck is a non-migratory si)ecics, most, if not 

 all of the individuals seen any great distance south of the breeding- 

 range having probably been driven out of their proper zone by stress 

 of weather. Essentially a bird of the sea, the eider, except in the 

 breeding-season, rarely comes ashore, and even when in flight prefers 

 to follow the sinuous outlines of the coast rather than cross a headland 

 or promontory. Indeed, the drakes at an early period of the breeding- 

 season leave their partners on land, and betake themselves in large 



