EIDER DUCK. 191 



It is usually met witli in small flocks, consisting, perhaps, 

 of members of the same family, which are almost inva- 

 riably females or young birds. Among- the few adults 

 recorded as having been met with in this county may 

 be mentioned a male in full plumage, shot off Wells, in 

 January, 1820, in company with which were two others, 

 as mentioned by Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear ;* also 

 an adult male, killed in the estuary, near Lynn, on the 

 13th November, 1868 ; a female, at Hunstanton, in 

 January, 1871, and a nearly adult one at the same place 

 a few days later ; also a female mentioned below, now in 

 the Norwich Museum. 



In November and December, 1883, as recorded by 

 Mr. Stevenson (" Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc," 

 iv., p. 138), a party of these birds visited Breydon, where 

 probably they were shot at and dispersed inland, as on 

 the 22nd of November a female was seen on Flegg 

 Burgh Broad. On the 11th December, 1883, an adult 

 female, now in the Norwich Museum, and said to have 

 been seen with others in the same locality, was killed 

 with a stone on a small stream, near Hellesdon mills, a 

 few miles above Norwich ; it was described as strangely 

 tame. On the 12th December another, believed to be 

 an immature female, seen in company with six others, 

 was shot on Breydon. This bird also was remarkably 

 tame, so much so that it came to a boat-yard, where 

 some boys threw stones at it. On the 14th of the same 

 month, another, said to have been a young male, was 

 killed on Breydon. The plumage of these last two birds 

 is described as very dark. Many other immature indi- 

 viduals have from time to time been recorded. 



In July, 1885, an immature eider frequented the 

 coast off Blakeney point, fishing along about fifty or 

 sixty yards outside the breakers, from the entrance to 

 Blakeney Harbour southward to Cley, with great regu- 



* The late Mr. Whitear thus refers to this bird in his diar}' 

 (" Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc.," iii., p. 252) :— " 1820, 

 February 9th. I saw at Hunt's an old male eider duck in full 

 plumage. Hunt informed me that this bird was killed last month 

 (on the 27th) at Wells ; there were three birds in company at 

 the time. In the stomach of this bird there was a considerable 

 quantity of Echini and crab's claws," 



