328 OUR RARER BIRDS 



until the beginning or middle of May. The Eider Duck 

 always prefers to nest on a small, rocky, uninhabited island. 

 The female makes her nest in various situations sometimes 

 amongst the dense growth of sea-campion and coarse grass, some 

 distance from the waters, at others in a crevice of the rocks 

 a little way above high-water mark. At the Feme Islands 

 many Eider Ducks nest in the old ruins on one of the islets ; 

 and I have seen its nest at St. Kilda, on the island of Doon, at 

 the top of the cliffs several hundreds of feet above the sea. 

 At this latter nest the female never moved until I almost trod 

 upon her, and at first I thought it was a piece of rock that had 

 slipped from under my feet, so quickly did she hurl herself 

 down into the water, hissing and foaming like a caldron, far 

 below. The nest is usually a bulky well-made structure of 

 coarse grass and dry seaweed, bits of marine vegetation, and 

 sometimes heather, lined profusely with the down from the 

 female's body. This latter material gradually accumulates 

 after the first egg is laid. The eggs are six or seven in 

 number, and very pale green in colour without any spots or 

 markings. During the whole time the female is engaged in 

 domestic duties, the male never comes near the nest in fact, 

 he rarely comes upon the land at all. At stated intervals the 

 female covers her conspicuous eggs and hurries down to the 

 sea to feed, when the male generally joins her and they swim 

 in company. It is an error to suppose that the male deserts 

 the female at this period. He only keeps away from the nest, 

 as if fully conscious that his showy plumage would help to 

 betray its whereabouts to enemies. During the whole period 

 of incubation he rarely wanders far from the sea which is 

 nearest to the nest, and where his mate is in the habit of 

 coming to feed. Parties of males, however, generally swim 

 in company at this season, and this may have led to these 

 erroneous opinions. Sometimes many nests are built quite 

 close together, especially in districts where the birds are 



