18 TowNSEND, Conservation of the Eider. [j^n. 



Burton writing in 1875 ^ says that not even a, salute was per- 

 mitted to be fired at Reykjavik for fear of frightening the Eider 

 which was there a "barn door bird" and as "tame as horse-pond 

 geese." He says "the turf is shaven and hollowed to make the 

 nests — and the places are marked by pegs." 



Slater^ says of the Common Eider that it is "resident in large 

 numbers; especially abundant round the coast, strictly preserved 

 by law, and in consequence very tame. In Akureyri, for instance, 

 the old ducks with their ducklings feed along the edge of the fjord 

 quite close to the houses and road, and take no more notice of the 

 passers-by than domestic ducks would do — which is very pretty. 

 In winter they pack in immense flocks. The Eider down is, of 

 course, the property of the owner of the land, and every induce- 

 ment and protection is given to the birds, as the down is a valuable 

 article of trade." Bernhard Hantzsch ^ says : " In consequence of 

 the special protection, which man everywhere exercises over them, 

 their numbers seem slowly to increase." 



Nelson Annandale ^ says : " The one offence against the Icelandic 

 bird laws which a native cannot commit with impunity is the 

 slaughter of the eider-duck. — What is more important than many 

 laws, namely public opinion, protects the species, and there seems 

 to be a sentimental interest in it. — Probably it is due to the great 

 tameness of the bird, which appears actually to seek the vicinity 

 of a human dwelling for its nesting place and to frequent those 

 parts of the coast which are more frequented by man. — The 

 Icelandic eider-farms are frequently situated on little islands off 

 the coast. Small circular or oblong erections of rough stones are 

 made among the hummocks, to protect the brooding ducks from 

 wind and driving rain. — All the seafowl in these farms become 

 exceedingly tame, as no gun is allowed to be fired and every thing 

 liable to disturb the ducks is carefully banished. Those who 

 know how to handle them can even stroke the backs of the ducks 

 as they sit on their eggs. — On such farms there is a separate 

 building or large room entirely devoted to cleaning the down. 



> Ultima Thule or a summer in Iceland. 



2 Manual of the Birds of Iceland, 1901. 



' Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Vogelwelt Islands, 1905. 



< The Faroes and Iceland, 1906. 



