298 BAY, SEA OR DIVING DUCKS 



wanders south of the Aleutian Is- 

 lands; the centre of its greatest 

 abundance is on the Arctic coast 

 of Siberia, westward from the Ber- 

 ing Straits. It is a lover of cold 

 weather and lives happily along 

 the ice-bound shores of the arctic region, keeping well to sea except in 

 the most boisterous weather. In winter large numbers of these ducks are 

 killed by the natives of Alaska for food. This eider was discovered by 

 Steller and first described in 1769, by the Russian naturalist, Pallas, who 

 named it after its discoverer. 



The nests are built on the moss of the flat tundra and consist of 

 deep, round holes in the ground, well lined with down. During the in- 

 cubation process the male remains in the vicinity, but he does not assist 

 in the raising of the young. The female is a close sitter and leaves the 

 nest unwillingly. From 6 to 10 eggs are laid; they are greenish to olive 

 buff in colour and average 2.42 by 1.65 inches in size. 



An analysis of the stomach contents of 66 of these eiders showed 

 that of those birds taken during the months of May, June and July the 

 diet was nearly nine-tenths animal food, and of those taken in the winter 

 months the food was substantially 100 per cent from the animal king- 

 dom. The approximate percentages of diet were as follows: crustaceans, 

 45; molluscs, 19; insects, 13; annelid worms, 3; sand dollars, 3; fishes, 2; 

 miscellaneous animal food, 2; total animal food, 87 per cent. Pondweeds, 



3; crowberry, 1; algae, 1; miscella- 

 neous plant food, 8; total vegetable 

 food, 13 per cent. 



In the Hooper Bay region, Alas- 

 ka, in 1924, Conover observed these 

 birds. He says (1926): "This was 

 the last of the eiders to make its ap- 

 pearance, although it became com- 

 mon before the Spectacled Eider ar- 

 rived in any abundance. It was first 

 seen on May 18, when about forty 

 were observed in small flocks of from 

 six to eight. The next day about the 

 same number was seen, and after 

 that it became common. Their flight is very much swifter than that of 

 the other eiders, and if a flock is shot into, the birds twist and turn like 

 Scaups; in fact, except for the coloration of the drake, their appearance 

 is very unlike eiders. By May 23, a few were flying about the ponds in 

 the tundra and by May 27, they had become common. One flock which 

 was watched was seen to be feeding on some variety of water grass, 

 tipping up for it in the shallow water like Mallards. These ducks by now 

 had become very tame. 



"This was the only species of eider of which the immatures were 

 seen in any numbers. On June 4, two immature drakes were noticed on 



