432 THE GAME BIRDS AND WILD FOWL 



Genus SOMATERIA, or Eiders. 



Type SOMATEEIA MOLLISSIMA. 



Somateria, of F. Boie (1822). The birds comprising the present genus 

 are best characterised by having the scapulars long and falcated, and the head 

 marked with emerald green. Unfortunately these distinctions apply to males 

 only, and the following character must also be added to distinguish the females : 

 feathers on the forehead and on the sides of the bill projecting in triangular 

 patches nearly or quite as far as the nostrils. The wings are moderately long ; 

 the tail is short and consists of fourteen feathers. The bill is swollen and 

 elevated at the base, extending on to the forehead, and the edges of the upper 

 mandible are not bent inwardly ; nostrils small and oval. Three toes in front 

 webbed ; hind toe moderate and lobed. 



This genus contains four species and subspecies which are confined to the 

 northern portions of the Palsearctic and Nearctic regions. Two species are 

 British, one of which is a common resident in, and the other is an accidental 

 visitor to, our Islands. 



The Eiders are dwellers exclusively on rocky coasts. They are birds of 

 somewhat slow and laboured yet powerful flight ; they swim and dive well, but 

 walk clumsily. They subsist on crustaceans, marine insects, and shell-fish. 

 Their notes are harsh and grating. They make slovenly nests, which are lined 

 with down, upon the ground, and their eggs are numerous and green of various 

 shades, unspotted. They are monogamous, but the male takes no share in 

 family duties. They are more or less gregarious and social at all seasons. 



