104 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. vn. 



June we found the opposite to be the case, even after 

 making due allowance for the females which were at 

 the nest. We based our calculations, not so much 

 on what we saw on the inland lochs, where many of the 

 drakes may have belonged to breeding pairs, but by 

 what we saw along the western coast of the island. The 

 ground here is under cultivation, and we found no 

 evidence of Eiders breeding on this coast, yet both in 

 May, before the majority of the ducks had begun to 

 sit, and later, we saw many parties of from two to five 

 drakes, and occasionally some consisting of two ducks 

 and three or four drakes, but only twice saw couples 

 of unmated ducks, and these were on inland waters. 



