240 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vi. 



it may be advisable to mention that for some time past 

 the Tufted Duck lias bred in north Iceland, and that 

 it was first noticed there in 1895, and probably bred the 

 following year, while more recently a duck was shot from 

 a nest ^^ith eggs in the Myvatn district (G. H. Lings), 

 and eggs have also been taken regularly there since 

 1907. The Goosander {Mergus m. merganser L.) was 

 not common, and only one old drake was seen. The 

 south-west of Iceland is not a particularly good district 

 for ducks, with perhaps the exception of the Harlequin 

 (Histrionicus histrionicus (L.)), which is extremely common 

 in the rapid-flowing parts of the larger rivers which 

 do not take their rise in glaciers, and in consequence 

 are rich in fish and insect-life. The islets on Avhich they 

 build are, however, exceedingly difficult of access. On 

 one small bushy island in particular some twenty pairs 

 must have been breeding, but a big fall above and another 

 below made the use of a boat almost impossible, and 

 wading or swimming in such a torrent was out of the 

 question. 



The Eider Duck {Somateria m. mollissima CL.)) is 

 stringently protected by law, and in consequence is 

 plentiful and tame. Most of the colonies are on islets 

 in the fjords, but one which Ave visited was on two islets 

 in a large river, about ten or eleven kilometres from the 

 sea. Most of the birds here were very tame, and one 

 old duck alloAved herself to be stroked by the whole party 

 in succession without stirring from her nest. It was 

 very interesting to notice the extraordinary amount of 

 variation in the plumage of the ducks, some being 

 exceedingly dark and others just as light in colour. One 

 duck was a semi-albino ; she had a A\'hite head and a good 

 deal of white about her plumage generally, so that on 

 the wing she might have passed for an abnormally-coloured 

 drake. Some of the nests A\ere placed very close together. 

 In one case we saw a clump of six or seven nests under 

 the shelter of a dwarfed but spreading Salix Janata, less 

 than a foot apart from one another. The eggs also showed 



