^ 



'290 Beetz, Notes on the Eider. [j^jy 



the species in the spring arrive from the south, pass by the west 

 point of the island of Anticosti, strike the north shore at the Mingan 

 islands, often as far west even as Godbout, and then descend the 

 whole length of the shore, pass the Straits of Belle Isle and go north. 

 In the autumn, in September, October and November only three 

 of these species — S. dresseri, the intermediate species and S. 

 mollissima borealis — return by the Gulf as far as Mingan and even 

 Godbout and these strike the western point of the island of Anti- 

 costi to continue their migration to the south. Many of these 

 species — partly the young hatched late — winter around Anticosti 

 and on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The greater 

 part of these that winter are the intermediate and Northern Eiders, 

 very few of the American Eiders and none of the King Eiders. 

 The migration in the autumn of the King Eider is by Newfoundland 

 as well as by the eastern point of Anticosti. In certain winters 

 many King Eiders stay about Anticosti. 



It is a curious fact that between June 15 and July 15 on the 

 highway of the north coast between Godbout and Chateau Bay all 

 the male American Eiders leave their females and migrate between 

 Chateau and Cape Chidley. Here the spring and the period of 

 nesting are each a month later, and it would seem to be a possibility 

 that by the mating of the male S. dresseri with the female S. 

 mollissima borealis there would be created a mixed species, not 

 classed, intermediate with membranous processes semi-rounded. 

 This should be an easy and very interesting subject to investigate. 



Moults. All the species of Eiders male as well as female do not 

 reach full adult plumage until the age of two years and two months, 

 that is to say until August of the third year after their hatching out. 

 All young Eiders have four moults of the body feathers and one 

 moult of down before assuming the complete adult plumage. The 

 first moult takes place in September when they are about four 

 months old; the second moult occurs the following spring in May 

 when they are about eleven months old; the third moult occurs 

 in the September following at the age of about sixteen months; 

 the fourth moult occurs in June when the subject is about two years 

 old; the fifth moult into the complete adult plumage takes place 

 after the end of August or the beginning of September when the 

 bird is two years and two months old, and is complete at the age 

 .of about two years and three and a half months. 



