, at once : the eiders were simply drowning the 

 mussels in order to make them loosen their 



grip and release the captive tongues. 

 ^ Surgery This is undoubtedly the true explanation, 

 *"* - ^ as I made sure by testing the mussels in 

 fresh water and by watching the birds more 

 closely at their feeding. All winter they 

 may be found along our coasts, where they 

 feed on the small shellfish that cover the 

 ledges. As the tide goes down they swim 

 in from the shoals, where they rest in scat- 

 tered flocks, and chip the mussels from the 

 ledges, swallowing them shells and all. A 

 score of times I have hidden among the 

 rocks of the jetty with a few wooden decoys 



., % in front of me, and watched the eiders come 



/ ... ,,'">- '} in to feed. They would approach the decoys 

 f.j rapidly, lifting their wings repeatedly as a 

 kind of salutation ; then, angered apparently 

 -7 that they were not welcomed by the same 

 signal of uplifted wings, they would swim up 

 to the wooden frauds and peck them sav- 

 agely here and there, and then leave them 

 in disgust and scatter among the rocks at 



my feet, paying 



