KING EIDER. 



ANSERES. 



463 



ANATIDjE. 



So:\rATEKiA sPECTABiLis (Linnffius*). 



THE KING EIDER. 



Somateria spectabilis. 



The King Eidek or King Duck has a less southern breed- 

 ing-range than the preceding species, and its appearances 

 on the coasts of the British Islands are rare and irregular. 

 It is, naturally, more uncommon in the south than in the 

 north, and, as regards England, the genuine instances 

 may easily be counted. The authenticity of a King Eider 

 mentioned by Messrs, Paget on the authority of Mr. Lily 

 Wigg, as having been killed at Breydon in Norfolk, in July 

 1813, is more than doubtful ; and the same may be said of 

 a bird said to have been killed at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, in 1827, 

 and another at Lowestoft in 1854. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., 

 has a female which was obtained, freshly killed, in Leaden- 



* Anas spectabilis, Lintseus, Syst. Nat. Ed. 12, i. p. 195 (1766). 



