EIDER DUCK 



ST. CUTHBERT'S DUCK. 

 PLATE CXCIIL FIGURE I. 



Somateria mollissima, . . . FLEMING. SELBY. 

 Anas mollissima, . . . PENNANT. MONTAGU. 



THE down with which the nests of these birds are lined 

 is an article of commerce, and in the countries where 

 they are plentiful the people rob the nests two or three 

 times in the season. The eggs are also taken at the same 

 time, so as to make the birds lay again, "but it is generally 

 found that if they are robbed more than twice, they begin 

 to desert the place, and if pillaged oftener they quit it 

 entirely." 



The Eider Duck begins to pair in March, and to lay 

 about the beginning of the last week in May. Incubation 

 lasts from three weeks to a month. The young, as soon 

 as hatched, are led by the dam to the water, and in some 

 instances it appears certain that they must be carried by 

 her in her bill. The male bird at this period leaves his 

 mate, and repairs to the open sea. 



In England the Eiders build so far south as the Fern 

 Islands and Coquet Island. In one of the former the 



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