SPECTACLED EIDER 323 



this duck in North America. He says (1887): "In addition to the natural 

 struggle for existence the species has to contend against thousands of 

 shotguns in the hands of the natives. The diminution in all the species 

 of water-fowl breeding along the coast is more and more marked each 

 season; and while this may mean a desertion of one region for another 

 in the case of the great majority of geese and ducks, yet for such narrowly 

 limited species as the Spectacled Eider, and to a less extent the Emperor 

 Goose, this diminution is but the beginning of extermination. Moreover, 

 the present scarcity of large game along the coast is having great effect 

 in causing the natives to wage a continually increasing warfare upon 

 the feathered game." 



For its nesting sites this eider chooses tussocks of dry grass on small 

 islands, or knolls close to the edge of fresh or brackish ponds. The nest 

 itself is usually a hollow in the ground lined with grasses and down. The 

 number of eggs, varying from 5 to 9, are of a greenish or olive buff 

 colour and average 2.57 by 1.76 inches. 



In the Hooper Bay district, Alaska, Conover found these birds nest- 

 ing and noticed that almost all of them seemed to come from the north, 

 and passing Point Dall, enter Hooper Bay. He says (1926): "Un- 

 doubtedly the flocks we saw were composed entirely of birds that were 

 coming to nest in the immediate vicinity, but their arrival from the 

 north suggests that they may winter in some part of northern Bering 

 Sea. They did not nest commonly on Point Dall, but were abundant 

 nesters on the flats about Igiak Bay. The first eggs were found on June 

 13. The nests were built generally close to the shore of some pond. The 

 females were very solicitous and very tame. . . . 



"Young were first seen on July 8, but they were evidently several 

 days old. Broods of this duck soon became common. Twice, two females 

 were seen with one brood, the first of four and the second of nine duck- 

 lings. In both cases all the young seemed to be of the same size, and it 

 was impossible to tell whether two broods were mixed together or 

 whether all belonged to one female. Both old ones showed great anxiety, 

 and while one stayed with the young, the other would flap about wildly, 

 finally coming ashore in an attempt to lead me off." 



The male is rarely seen after the young are hatched and the duty 

 of raising the family devolves upon the female, who shows the greatest 

 courage in guarding her brood, as the following incident, recorded by 

 Nelson (1887) will show. He says: "A brood was swimming away from 

 me, and the female tried to protect them by keeping between the young 

 and myself. I fired two charges of No. 12 shot, killing all the young, yet, 

 in spite of the fact that the parent received a large share of the charge 

 each time, she refused to fly, and kept trying to urge her dead offspring 

 to move on, until a charge of larger shot mercifully stretched her among 

 her offspring. Upon removing her skin, her back was found to be filled 

 with fine shot, and her desperate courage in defense of her brood shows 

 the strength of parental feeling. Other similar instances attest the cour- 

 age and devotion of this species." 



