AMERICAN EIDER. 203 



some dijfference in the shape of the bills in the two spe- 

 cies, that of the common eider appearing slightly 

 straighter and more slender, while in the American bird 

 the upper outline of the bill in profile is slightly concave. 

 Slight as are the differences between the two, they ap- 

 pear to be constant and to be of specific value. 



The American eider is the commoner of the two 

 along the American coast. It is said to be found in 

 winter along the Atlantic as far south as the Delaware 

 River, but this perhaps only in winters of unusual sever- 

 ity. The American eider sometimes goes inland, and 

 has been taken on the Great Lakes and in adjacent 

 States, but there it is only an accidental straggler. 



Its breeding grounds are in Labrador and from there 

 to the Bay of Fundy. The nest is on the ground, very 

 often on small islands, at a little distance from the main- 

 land, and is formed of moss, weeds and twigs. Often 

 it is under the shelter of some little low-growing ever- 

 green, or in the open ground, behind the shelter of a 

 rock. The eggs are few in number, only six, and are 

 usually deposited on the soft layer of down with which 

 the nest is lined. When the mother leaves the nest she 

 covers the eggs with this down. The young are dark 

 mouse-color when first hatched and are at once expert 

 in swimming and diving. As soon as the females begin 

 to sit, the males leave them and assemble in flocks in the 

 open water. The eggs are said to be of two colors — one 

 a pale greenish-olive, the other much browner; the 

 paler tgg is sometimes spotted and splashed with 

 darker. 



