THE EIDER DUCK 247 



Duck tribe, not only from its size, but from its beauty, and the 

 elegant variations of its plumage. It is larger and stands higher 

 on its legs than the Common Wild Duck. The plumage is full, 

 soft, and blended ; the feathers of the bead and upper neck are 

 small and silky. The colours are very brilliant, being of a glossy 

 blackish green on the bead and neck, witb purplisb reflections in 

 some lights ; a broad band or ring of white is foimd on the neck, and 

 lower another of orange-red encircles the fore part of the body. The 

 rest of the under parts are white, with a band of glossy black on 

 the breast and belly ; the back white, variegated with black, white, 

 russet, and green. The Shieldrake abounds on the coasts of the 

 Baltic and North Sea ; it is also found in America, and on the 

 southern coasts of France, as well as on the edge of the Northern 

 Ocean. The nest is usually placed in some indentation in the sand, 

 the female frequently choosing a Rabbit's hole, which is often 

 situated in sand-banks. The poor Rabbit, thus turned out of its 

 burrow, never ventures to return to it again. 



The Eider Duck. 



English Synonyms. — Eider Duck : Montagu. Common Eider : Selby. 

 White-backed Eider : McGillivray. Popular names : St. Cuthbert's 

 Duck, Dunter Goose. 



Latin Synonyms. — Anas mollissima: Linn., Latham, Temminck. Soma- 

 teria mollissima : Jenyns, Bonaparte, McGillivray, Selby. 



The Eider Duck, though remarkable for beauty of plumage, 

 is nevertheless a very clumsy bird. In form it is bulky, depressed, 

 and elliptical, with large, oblong, and compressed head. The 

 plumage is dense and fine ; the head-feathers are short, tufted, and 

 rounded, and, blending with the terminal filaments, disunited ; 

 the wings diminutive, concave, narrow, and pointed, the tips of 

 which extend to the base of the tail, which is short, roimd, and 

 slightly decurvated. 



The Eider Duck is the northern bird which supplies the soft, 

 light, and warm material which is so well known under the name 

 of " eider-down." Its plumage is whitish, but the upper part of 

 the head, its belly, and its tail are black ; the side of the head, the 

 throat, and the neck are white, but the hair-like feathers on the 

 back part of the cheeks and nape are of a delicate pale green ; the 



