-popular J9tctt'0narn of 



$ature. 



213 



racious, not sparing even those of its own 



species. From the stomach of a specimen 



weighing twenty-five pounds, I took three 



common Dabs, and a young Conger of three 



feet in length. The power of the jaws in 



this fish is very great : in the stomach of 



small specimens examined on the coast, I 



i have found the young testaceous coverings 



I of our shell-fish comminuted to fragments. 



I They are often tempted by the Crustacea 



entrapped in the lobster-pots to enter those 



decoys in order to feed on them, and are 



thus frequently captured." 



EFT. [See NEWT.] 



EGG-BIRD. The name given to some 

 species of web-footed birds belonging to the 

 Laridae family. [See TERN.] 



EGGER [MOTH]. A name given by col- 

 lectors to the species of Moths, of the genera 

 Lasiocampa and Eriogaster. 



EGRET. [See HERON.] 



EIDER DUCK. (Somateria mollissima.) 

 This valuable species of wild duck is of a 

 size between the tame duck and the goose, 

 measuring about two feet in length. The 

 head is large ; the middle of the neck small, 

 with the lower part of it spread out very 

 broad, so as to form a hollow between the 

 shoulders. The bill is of a dirty green or 



(SOMATERIA MOLLISSIMA.) 



horn colour, and the upper mandible forked 

 in a singular manner towards each eye, and 

 covered with white feathers on the sides as 

 far forward as the nostrils. The upper part 

 of the head is of a soft velvet black, divided 

 behind by a dull white stroke : the feathers, 

 from the nape of the neck to the throat, are 

 puffed out, and look as if they had been 

 clipped off at the lower ends. The cheeks, 

 chin, upper part of the neck, the back, and 



lesser wing-cover 



hite ; the scapu- 



overts, are 



lars, dirty white ; bastard wings, and pri- 

 mary quills, brown ; secondaries, and greater 

 covert's, darker brown ; the front part of the 

 neck, to the breast, is of a buff colour ; the 

 breast, belly, rump, and tail-coverts are of a 

 deep sooty black ; tail feathers hoary brown ; 

 legs short, and yellow ; webs and nails 

 dusky. The full-grown male weighs from 

 six to seven pounds ; the female only be- 

 tween five and six. Her shape is nearly the 

 same ; but her plumage is quite different, 



are crossed with two bars of white ; quill 

 dark ; the upper part of the neck marked 

 with dusky streaks ; and the belly is deep 

 brown, spotted obscurely with black. 



This highly useful and valuable species is 

 a native of the frozen regions of the north : 

 it is extremely abundant in Iceland, Lap- 

 land, Greenland, and Spitzbergen, on the 

 shores of Baffin's and Hudson's Bays, &c. ; 

 it is also very numerous in the Hebrides and 

 the Orcades, but becomes rare as we advance 

 to the south. The female lays five or six 

 pale greenish-olive eggs in a nest composed 

 of marine plants, and thickly lined with a 

 beautiful down of most exquisite fineness, 

 which is highly esteemed for its excessive 

 lightness, elasticity, and useful qualities. 

 The nest is usually formed on small islands, 

 not far from the shore. As long as the fe- 

 male is sitting, the male continues on watch 

 at no great distance ; but as soon as the 

 young are hatched he leaves them : the 

 mother, however, remains with them a con- 

 siderable time afterwards, and is said to 

 assist them out of the nest almost as soon as 

 they creep from the eggs, and proceeding to 

 the shore, they crawl after her : when she 

 arrives at the water's edge she takes them 

 on her back, and swims a few yards with 

 them ; she then dives, and the young being 

 left floating on the surface, they are obliged 

 to take care of themselves. 



The manner in which the eider down is 

 taken is as follows : When the collectors 

 come to the nest, they carefully remove the 

 female, and take away the superfluous down 

 and eggs ; after which they replace her. She 

 then begins to lay afresh, and again has re- 

 course to the down on her body to cover her 

 eggs ; and in the event of her own stock 

 being exhausted, which is not unfrequently 

 the case, she is now assisted by the male in 

 furnishing the requisite quantity : even this 

 is frequently taken away, when the birds 

 proceed to furnish another supply, both of 

 eggs and down ; but if the cruel robbery be 

 repeated again, they immediately abandon 

 the place. One female generally yields about 

 half a pound of down, which is worth about 

 two dollars. This down, from its superior 

 warmth, lightness, and elasticity, is pre- 

 ferred by the luxurious to every other article 

 for beds and coverlets ; and from the great 

 demand for it, those districts in Norway and 

 Iceland, where these birds abound, are re- 

 garded as the most valuable property, and 

 are guarded with the greatest vigilance. As 

 found in commerce, this down is in balls of 

 the size of a man's fist, and weighing from 

 three to four pounds. It is so fine and elas- 

 tic, that when a ball is opened, and the down 

 cautiously held near the fire to expand, it 

 will completely fill a quilt five feet square : 

 but it is worthy of observation that although 

 the eider down taken from the nests is so 

 excellent, the down of dead birds is little 

 esteemed, from having lost its elasticity. 



Eider Ducks associate in flocks, generally 

 in deep water, diving to great depth for shell- 

 fish, which constitute their principal food. 

 They frequently retire to the rocky shores 



the ground colour being of a reddish brown, I to rest, particularly on the appearance of 

 crossed with waved black lines : the wings | an approaching storm. The Greenlanders 



