70 BIRDS OF ICELAND 



the roughest and most broken water, diving repeatedly, 

 and taking a waterfall (even a considerable one) with- 

 out hesitation. They are easy enough to kill on the 

 wing, but on the water need a stiff dose of No. 4 shot, 

 else they dive, die under water, and are probably lost. 



I should add that the Harlequin is a very late 

 breeder — three weeks, or so, later than the gene- 

 rality of ducks in Iceland — and no one need expect to 

 find eggs much before July. The only one I recollect 

 before that, I found lying in a shallow pool by a river- 

 side at the bottom of the water — it having evidently 

 been produced unexpectedly (in a very early spring) 

 before there was a nest ready for it. 



7> Somateria mollissima (Linn.). Eider Duck. 



Native nmnes: ' ^5ur,' '^5ar-fugl,' also ' aeSar-bliki ' 

 {$), ' ceSarkolla ' (?). 



Resident in large . numbers ; especially abundant 

 round the coast, strictly preserved by law, and in 

 consequence very tame. In Akureyri, for instance, 

 the old ducks with their ducklingrs feed alonsf the edf]je 

 of the fjord quite close to the houses and road, and take 

 no more notice of the passers-by than domestic ducks 

 would do — which is very pretty. In winter they pack 

 in immense flocks. The eider down is, of course, the 

 property of the owner of the land, and every induce- 

 ment and protection is given to the birds, as the down 

 is a valuable article of trade. It is universally used 

 in Iceland for ' duvets ' — no other word seems to apply, 



