AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 23 



AMERICAN EIDER DUCK. 



A. O. V/. jVo. I(t0. (Somaleria drejjeri.) 



RANGE. 



North America, on the Atlantic coast, from the Middle States to 

 Labrador. Very rarely in the great lakes. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Length, 22 inches; extent of wing, 40 inches; tail, 3.5 inches; eye, 

 dark brown; bill, legs and feet, olive green. 



Male. — General color above, pure white; top of head, black, divided 

 by a band of white on back of head; throat, neck and sides of head 

 white tinged with green on back of neck and side of head; breast, 

 white shading into buff or pink; under parts and tail, black. 



Female. — Brown above, mottled with black. Head and neck 

 streaked with black. Two dull white wing bars; under parts, light 

 brown barred with black; chest more rufous. 



NEST AND EGGS. 



Nest made of dry grass and seaweed, lined with down from the 

 breast of the female. 



Eggs. — Laid about the middle of June, six to ten in number, of a 

 greenish drab color. 



HABITS. 



This is one of the largest of the to sustain it. Sometimes it 



ducks, and also one of the most attempts to imitate the gulls and 



conspicuous, because of the great terns which are common in their 



contrast produced by the white locality, and tries to sail with set 



back and black breast. wings. The attempt can hardly 



He is essentially a sea-bird, and be called successful, as gravity 



a flock of male birds seated on the soon overcomes the buoyancy of 



water can be seen a long way off. his wings, and he must of necessity 



He is excelled by none in diving, work them again, 

 and lives upon shell-fish, which he During the winter the birds 



gets from the bottom of the generally live in large flocks in 



sea. Upon land, few birds are as the open sea. They are quite 



awkward as the eider, with his timid at this time, and, if disturbed, 



peculiar, stumbling waddle. they rise from the water, and in 



Its flight is quite rapid, Indian file fly to a more congenial 



although laborious, as its body locality. When spring comes 



is quite heavy, and it is obliged to they mate, and in pairs swim to 



move its wings rapidly in order land. They waddle about until 



