EIDER 193 
extreme lightness and elasticity, is in great request for filling bed- 
coverlets. ‘This bird generally frequents low rocky islets near the 
coast, and in Iceland and Norway has long been afforded every 
encouragement and protection, a fine being inflicted for killing it 
during the breeding-season, or even for firing a gun near its haunts, 
while artificial nesting-places are in many localities contrived for its 
further accommodation. From the care thus taken of it in those 
countries it has become exceedingly tame at its chief resorts, which 
are strictly regarded as property, and the taking of eggs or down 
from them, except by authorized persons, is severely punished by 
law. In appearance the Eider is somewhat clumsy, though it flies 
fast and dives admirably. The female is of a dark reddish-brown 
colour barred with brownish-black. The adult male in spring is 
conspicuous by his pied plumage of sable beneath, and creamy- 
white above ; a patch of shining sea-green on his head is only seen 
on close inspection. ‘This plumage he is considered not to acquire 
until his third year, being when young almost exactly like the 
female, and it is certain that the birds which have not attained 
their full dress remain in flocks by themselves without going to the 
breeding-stations. The nest is generally in some convenient corner 
among large stones, hollowed in the soil, and furnished with a few 
bits of dry grass, seaweed, or heather. By the time that the full 
number of eggs (which rarely if ever exceeds five) is laid the down 
is added. Generally the eggs and down are taken at intervals of a 
few days by the owners of the “ Eidér-fold,” and the birds are thus 
kept depositing both during the whole season ; but some experience 
is needed to insure the greatest profit from each commodity. Every 
Duck is ultimately allowed to hatch an egg or two to keep up the 
stock, and the down of the last nest is gathered after the birds have 
left the spot. The story of the Drake’s furnishing down, after the 
Duck’s supply is exhausted, is a fiction.1 He never goes near the 
nest. The eggs have a strong flavour, but are much relished by 
both Icelanders and Norwegians. In the Old World the Eider 
breeds in suitable localities from Spitsbergen to the Farn Islands 
off the coast of Northumberland—where it is known as St. Cuth- 
bert’s Duck. Its food consists of marine animals (mollusks and 
crustaceans), and hence the young are not easily reared in captivity. 
The Eider of the New World differs somewhat from our own, and 
has been described as a distinct species, S. dresseri. 'Though much 
diminished in numbers by persecution, it still inhabits the coast of 
Newfoundland and thence northward. In Greenland Eiders are 
very plentiful, and it is supposed that three-fourths of the supply 
of down sent to Copenhagen come from that country. The limits 
of the Kider’s northern range are not known, but the last British 
1 Equally fictitious is the often-repeated statement that Eider-down is white, 
Mouse-colour would perhaps best describe its hue. 
13 
