A LABRADOR SPRING 



pencillings of rich brown and black, and each 

 feather is a work of art. The dress is modesty 

 itself, but in richness of colouring and good 

 taste it cannot be excelled. In fact, as a con- 

 stant companion, I should prefer the richly 

 but modestly dressed duck to the gaudy drake, 

 but this, of course, is my inherited masculine 

 taste, a taste, however, that appears to be 

 shared by the drake. 



That the drake is fond of the duck is evident 

 from the love-makings that go on in these cold 

 waters, and indeed the study of the courtships 

 of the eider was one of my greatest interests in 

 this Labrador spring. Everywhere we went 

 among the rocky islands that line the coast, 

 pairs and little bands of eiders abounded. We 

 found twenty nests on one island of a few 

 acres, and, on our walk around Esquimaux 

 Island, we must have seen at least 500 of these 

 beautiful birds. They were usually in pairs, 

 and, when flying, the female preceded, closely 

 followed by the male. This was certainly the 

 rule when the birds were flying about un- 

 aware of the presence of man, but, when 

 disturbed or frightened by his presence, I re- 

 gret to have to state that the male often 



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