160 



y ATI' HAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



appronch tlip rivcr-<lucks. Tlioy iiiliubit the Iwroal regions, anil in countries wliere 

 till'}' arc nuiiicnnis ami jirott-ctiMJ, ilii-v arc of ronsidcrabio i-conomical iiiiportani'i-, the 

 down of which tliey build tiic nest being Iiighij- valued. Each nest yields about an 

 ounce and a third. From Circcnland and Iceland alone .si.\ tliousand jiounds, or the 

 contents of seventy-two thousand nests, are yearly exported. This gives an idea of 



P..^f.'. S 



^'^r 



Flo. 72. — Somaleriu mollit$ima, cidcr-dack. 



the nunilier of these birds in the hii,'h nortli. All along the coast of Norway, wlicre 

 the bird is ]>rLitccted by law throiigliout the year, the common eider {Somateria mollis- 

 aiviu), is now exceedingly common and very tame. The iidiabitants take "rcat care 

 of the breeding binls, which often enter their houses to find suitable nesting-])laces, 

 and cases are authenti<"ited in which the poor fisherman vacated his bed in order Jiot 

 to disturb the female cider, which liad selected it as a quiet corner wherein to raise 



