282 THE DIVING DUCKS 



own in spite of the tremendous current. Presumably these families 

 drift down stream to the sea, or at any rate to brackish water. The 

 whole care of the young devolves on the duck, but it has often been 

 noticed that when two or more families come to close quarters the 

 young frequently get mixed up and attach themselves indifferently to 

 the nearest duck, so that a fleet of twenty or more young may be seen 

 in close attendance on a single duck. After a period of from six to 

 seven weeks the young are fully fledged, but before this time they may 

 often be seen packing together in flocks of as many as fifty or more, 

 sometimes accompanied by an old bird or two, but quite capable of 

 taking care of themselves, and paying little attention to her. 



In the Fseroes Miiller states that he found eiders nesting on the 

 top of Hestoe, which is an island from 1000 to 1200 feet high. It is 

 difficult to understand how the young can manage such a formidable 

 descent, and probably a large proportion of them lose their lives on the 

 way, but there is no doubt that young ducks can fall from considerable 

 heights without suffering any apparent injury. Eiders are voracious 

 birds, and in addition to their natural diet will eagerly devour the 

 carcasses of other birds when thrown into the water. In captivity the 

 best food for newly hatched young has proved to be live earthworms. 

 Besides the " cooing " or " moaning " note of the drakes in the breeding 

 season, and occasionally also in autumn, one hears a low grunting 

 note, written by Hantzsch as "krrr" or "korrr" from the duck when 

 driven from the nest, while the drake occasionally utters a nasal " ha " 

 or a loud " hauwa, hahauwa" at the nest, and a long-drawn "gag" 

 while resting on the water. The breeding range of the eider, both in 

 the British Isles and on the Continent, has been considerably extended 

 of late, and is still increasing. 



