1914 J TowNSEND, Conservation of the Eider. 17 



Baird, Brewer and Ridgway quote from C. W. Shepard, as fol- 

 lows : " The islands of Vigr and Oldey are their headquarters in the 

 northwest of Iceland. In these they live in undisturbed tranquil- 

 lity. They have become almost domesticated, and are found in 

 vast multitudes, as their young remain and breed in the place of 

 their birth. As the island (Vigr) was approached, we could see 

 flocks upon flocks of the sacred birds, and could hear them cooing 

 at a great distance. We landed on a rocky, wave-worn shore. It 

 was the most wonderful ornithological sight conceivable. The 

 Ducks and their nests were everywhere. Great, brown Ducks 

 sat upon their nests in masses, and at every step started from under 

 our feet. It was with difficulty that we avoided treading on some 

 of the nests. On the coast of the opposite shore was a wall built of 

 large stones, just above the high-water level, about three feet 

 in height, and of considerable thickness. At the bottom, on 

 both sides of it, alternate stones had been left out, so as to form a 

 series of square compartments for the Ducks to nest in. Almost 

 every compartment was occupied, and as we walked along the shore, 

 a long line of Ducks flew out, one after the other. The surface of 

 the water also was perfectly white with drakes, who welcomed their 

 brown wives with loud and clamorous cooing. The house itself 

 was a marvel. The earthen walls that surrounded it and the 

 window embrasures were occupied by Ducks. On the ground the 

 house was fringed with Ducks. On the turf slopes of its roof we 

 could see Ducks, and a Duck sat on the door-scraper. The grassy 

 banks had been cut into square patches, about eighteen inches 

 having been removed, and each hollow had been filled with Ducks. 

 A windmill was infested, and so were all the outhouses, mounds, 

 rocks, and- crevices. The Ducks were everywhere. Many were so 

 tame that we could stroke them on their nests, and the good lady 

 told us that there was scarcely a Duck on the island that would not 

 allow her to take its eggs without flight or fear. Our hostess told us 

 that when she first became possessor of the island the produce of 

 down from the Ducks was not more than fifteen pounds in a year, 

 but that under her careful nuture of twenty years, it had risen to 

 nearly a hundred pounds annually. Most of the eggs were taken 

 and pickled for winter consumption, one or two only being left in 

 each nest to hatch." 



