198 THE NATURALIST IN NORWAY. 



The female sits on the eggs for four weeks, and the 

 male bird watches by her side. If any human being 

 or beast of prey approaches the nest, the male bird 

 cries liu, Tiu } hu, and then the female covers her eggs 

 with moss and down, which she has ready for the pur- 

 pose, and joins her mate on the water. If she remains 

 away too long, the male bird drives her back with his 

 wings, and if the eggs are spoilt, he gives her a beat- 

 ing, and deserts her." 



The male eider does not at any time sit on the eggs, 

 but when the ducklings take to the water, he accom- 

 panies them, and scares away gulls, skuas, and other 

 birds. The eminent Danish naturalist Kjgerbolling 

 estimates that 72,000 nests of the eider duck are 

 found annually in Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, 

 and the north of Norway. The number of nests 

 found in former years was much greater. Kjaerbolling 

 also states that each nest yields a sixth of a pound of 

 down. He must be speaking of the down before it 

 has been cleansed, for I have been informed by a Nor- 

 wegian naturalist, who resides at Hammerfest, and has 

 studied the habits of the eider on its breeding- grounds, 

 that the quantity of clean down procured from each 

 nest, and fit for sale, does not amount to more than an 

 ounce. Some years ago the best eider-down could 

 be purchased at Hammerfest for twelve shillings, Eng- 

 lish money, per ounce ; now the price is sixteen shil- 

 lings per ounce, and it is much dearer at Christiania. 



The eider feeds on mussels, crabs, shrimps, and 

 small fishes ; it opens the mussels by throwing them 

 down from a height on to a rock or stone, when the 

 shells are broken. The nest is made of dry grass and 

 seaweed, and is lined with moss and down ; it is never 



