KING EIDER. 20g 



black ; the tail is brownish-black. Except in the breed- 

 ing season, the bill is shaped much as in the ordinary- 

 eider duck, but in spring there is a large, square, soft 

 swelling on the bill, extending down nearly to the nos- 

 trils. The feathering in the median line extends down 

 further on the top of the bill than it does on the sides, in 

 this respect differing markedly from any of the other 

 eiders. The bill is reddish-orange, and the legs and 

 feet similar, but slightly paler. The length is about 23 

 inches. 



The adult female has the plumage buff or tawny, 

 streaked on head, chin and throat with darker, the 

 streaking being most abundant on the top of the head. 

 The breast and sides are somewhat paler, with black 

 bars across the feathers. The back and shoulder feath- 

 ers are blackish-brown, tipped with yellowish. The 

 wing feathers are mainly black or blackish-brown, the 

 greater coverts or secondaries being tipped with white, 

 to form two narrow bars across the wing. The ter- 

 tiaries are reddish on the outer webs. The rump and 

 upper tail-coverts are tawny, barred with black; tail, 

 black ; breast and belly, blackish-brown ; under tail-cov- 

 erts, reddish, barred with black. The bill is greenish- 

 gray and the feet yellowish. 



Like some of the other eiders, this is a bird of cir- 

 cumpolar distribution, and is found in both continents. 

 It appears to be everywhere much less abundant than 

 other birds of the genus and is found chiefly in the far 

 North, although it sometimes occurs on the New Eng- 

 land coast. It has been found in Long Island Sound 



