ANATID/E. 



447 



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A.^^K^^'^^' '■-'^'^^ 



THE eii)p:r duck. 



SOMATKRIA MOLLISSIMA (LinnXHls). 



The Eider Duck is only a winter-visitor in comparatively small 

 numbers to the western and southern coasts of England, but along 

 the east side it gradually becomes more abundant as we proceed 

 northwards. On the Fame Islands, and along the coast of North- 

 umberland, it has been known for centuries as a breeding bird ; 

 while in Scotland it is found in suitable localities up to the Orkneys 

 and Shetlands, though local in Sutherlandshire. In the Outer 

 Hebrides it is decidedly on the increase, and is very common about 

 Colonsay and Islay ; but it is not known to breed on the mainland 

 of Argyll, Ayr, or Wigton. On the Irish coast it is very rare, even 

 in cold weather, and only from twelve to fifteen examples have been 

 obtained. 



This species is abundant in the Faeroes and Norway, where it is 

 protected by law ; and northward it can be traced to Jan Mayen, 

 Spitsbergen and Franz-Josef Land. It also breeds in Novaya Zemlya, 

 but to the eastward it is not known to extend beyond Cape Chel- 

 yuskin, for it has not been found by recent travellers at the mouth of 

 the Lena or in Kamschatka ; while Bering Sea is inhabited by a larger 



