314 



BAY, SEA OR DIVING DUCKS 



seems borne out by another instance. On June 29, Murie found a nest 

 with three young and two eggs. When the nest was visited again June 

 30, the female had left with the three young already hatched, although 

 the remaining two eggs were pipped and the young still alive in them. 

 ... Of the three species of 

 eider nesting in the vicinity, 

 this bird was the rarest, al- 

 though during the early mi- 

 gration it was the second in 

 abundance of the four eiders, 

 being outnumbered only by 

 the King Eiders." 



The food of the Pacific 

 Eider is almost entirely ani- 

 mal. An analysis of the stom- 

 ach contents of 61 taken in 

 Alaska during the months of 

 January, February, March, 

 May, June and July, gave the 

 following approximate per- 

 centages: molluscs (including 

 the blue mussel, 12), 46; crus- 

 taceans, 31; echinoderms (in- 

 cluding the sand dollar, 6), 

 14; fishes, 2; miscellaneous 

 animal food, 3; total animal 

 food, 96 per cent, Algae, 3; 

 miscellaneous plant food, 1; 

 total vegetable food, 4 per 

 cent. 



Those eiders that breed in the Aleutian Islands probably winter in 

 the same locality. Those that breed on the Arctic coast of Alaska and as 

 far north as the Diomedes, however, must make the 2,000 mile trip to the 

 Aleutian Islands. They cannot winter north of the Bearing Straits, as 

 there is no open water to be found in this part of the Arctic Ocean. 



The habits and behaviour of the Pacific Eider are similar to those 

 of the American Eider and are fully described under that species. 



