EIDER DUCK. 303 



these birds were reared at Knowsley. Eider, Eder, or 

 Edder, is the name applied to this Duck in Germany, 

 Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. It is found on the Faroe 

 Islands, at Iceland, Greenland, at Spitzbergen, and at 

 Nova Zembla. Mr. Scoresby observes that the specimens 

 seen by him at Spitzbergen were smaller than those in the 

 seas of Greenland. To the westward these birds were 

 noticed in Davis' Straits, Baffin's Bay, and on each of the 

 Arctic voyages performed by Sir Edward Parry and others. 

 The Eider Duck is also seen in the northern parts of 

 North America, as will be found by reference to the orni- 

 thological works of Sir John Richardson, Mr. Audubon, 

 and Wilson. 



In the adult male the beak is dusky green ; the nail 

 white ; the irides brown ; top of the head velvet black ; 

 lore and cheeks white; ear-coverts and occiput pale green; 

 back, scapulars, tertials, point of wing, and smaller wing- 

 coverts white ; greater wing-coverts black ; wing-primaries 

 and secondaries dull black ; the tertials elongated, and 

 falling partly over them ; rump black ; tail-feathers dull 

 black ; chin and upper part of neck in front white ; lower 

 part of neck pale buff; breast, belly, sides, and all the 

 under surface black, except a patch on the flank, which is 

 white ; legs, toes, and their membranes dusky green. 

 The whole length is twenty-five inches. From the point 

 of the wing to the end of the longest quill-feather eleven 

 inches. 



Young males of the Eider are at first like the adult 

 female, but when changing in their first winter the head 

 and neck are mottled with two shades of dark brown, 

 with a few white feathers appearing through in different 

 parts ; lower portion of neck, and upper part of the 

 back, mottled black and white ; wing-coverts and tertials 

 becoming white ; the rest of the plumage black ; legs and 



