STELLER'S EIDER 



297 



JUVENILE. In the first autumn the sexes are alike and resemble the adult 

 female except that they are lighter coloured, redder and more mottled below; 

 the back and scapulars have buffy edgings to the feathers. The young male has 

 breast and sides heavily barred with rich reddish brown. The young female has 

 under parts barred with paler brown. During the first winter and spring the sexes 

 differentiate but on the whole there is not much change until after the first 

 eclipse moult in July and August, after which the plumage is fully adult. Wing 

 of Male. As in adult female but speculum, duller blue and less extensive, most 

 of the outer secondaries, dusky; white tips of secondaries and of greater coverts, 

 narrower; pale blue central-streak on curved tertails, absent or only faintly in- 

 dicated; lesser and middle coverts, with more extensive buffy-edgings. Wing of 

 Female. As in juvenile male but blue of speculum entirely lacking, and replaced 

 by dusky. 



SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION 



MALE. WINTER PLUMAGE: General effect: A medium-sized duck, strikingly marked 



with black and white on upperparts, and with 

 chestnut-brown underparts. Chief distinguishing 

 features (a) hind toe with lobe, (b) white head, 

 with black throat and neck, and black ring around 

 eye, (c) some scapulars, secondaries, and tertials 

 greatly elongated, (d) white wing-coverts. 



The male with its distinctive markings is diffi- 

 cult to confuse with any other duck. 



AUTUMN AND JUVENILE PLUMAGE: See "Descrip- 

 tions." 



FEMALE. General effect: A medium-sized 

 duck of rich, dark-brown coloration. Chief dis- 

 tinguishing features (a) hind toe with lobe, (b) 

 speculum, bordered in front and behind with white 

 bars. 



A small edition of the other female Eiders, 

 but its more duck-like head and mallard-like spec- 

 ulum will distinguish it. 



FIELD MARKS 



(To be looked for on the northwest Arctic coast, principally in Alaska.) 

 Unlike the other eiders, which are heavily built, these are trim little ducks and are 

 the smallest of the eiders. They are swift on the wing and, in flight, their long 

 wings make a whistling sound similar to that of the Golden-eyes. The male, 

 with its white head, black neck, white wings, and chestnut underparts, is readily 

 identified. The female can be told by its rich, dark-brown colour and mallard 

 like speculum. 



FIG. 50.-BUI of Steller's 

 Eider. 



LIFE STORY 



Steller's Eider is a trim little duck and exhibits none of the heavy, 

 clumsy build and appearance of the other eiders. It is the smallest of 

 the group and the male is a beautifully and oddly marked bird. Its habi- 

 tat on this continent is off the Alaskan coasts, and in winter it seldom 



