76 



Distribution. Eider Duck inhabit northern parts of Europe and eastern America. 

 The Northern Eider is the more northern of our two similar Eiders (See next species). A 

 strictly Atlantic bird breeding in the eastern Canadian Arctic and in Greenland. 



SUBSPECIES. The Eider Duck is represented in America by a subspecies, the 

 Northern Eider S. m. borealis. The European Eider, the type race, has never been recorded 

 in America. 



161. American Eider. FR. L'EIDER D'AMERIQUE. LE MOT AC. Somateria dresseri. 

 L, 23. Almost exactly similar to the preceding species. 



Distinctions. Female may be mistaken for that of King Eider, but can be separated 

 from it by the feathering of crown not extending as far forward as rear of nostril. It may 

 not be specifically distinct from preceding species and either sex can be separated from 

 it only by rounded ends of bill process on forehead and the fact that the distance from 

 point of feathering on side of bill to tip of processes is greater. 



Field Marks. Size and general coloration; cannot be distinguished from Northern 

 Eider in life. 



Nesting. On the ground, sometimes under overhanging rocks or bushes, nest built of 

 down plucked from the parent's breast. 



Distribution. A bird of our eastern coasts, nesting on the north shore of the gulf of 

 St. Lawrence, and occasionally on the coast as far south as Maine. 



In Scandinavia and Iceland the Eiders are semi-domesticated and the 

 down derived from their nests is an important source of revenue. Though 

 on the Labrador and Gulf of St. Lawrence coasts there are immense flocks 

 of these birds no attempt has been made to turn them to account except 

 as food; but the numbers have been so rapidly reduced by reckless killing 

 that only a small fraction of the original number remains. On these bleak 

 and desolate coasts where fresh meat is scarce the Eiders should be con- 

 served for food if for nothing else. An intelligent and far-seeing policy 

 would conserve them for all time to come, supply a liberal amount of 

 flesh food and eggs, and at the same time produce a crop of down worth in 

 the markets far more than the carcasses of the birds. 



So closely is this species related to the last that it would not be surpris- 

 ing were it classified together with the Northern Eider as a subspecies. 



162. King Eider. KING DUCK. PR. L'EIDER REMARQUABLE. Somateria spec- 

 tabilis. L, 23. Male much like the preceding, but the back mostly black, cheeks nile- 

 green, top of head and hindneck light bluish grey, and a black V on the throat; bill is 

 distinctive, the bright yellow fleshy forehead processes almost meet on the forehead where 

 they widen put to nearly an inch across, forming a comparatively mountainous hump. 

 Female is without the great bill process and is coloured in the same browns and blacks in 

 fine-barred pattern as are the other Eiders. 



Distinctions. Male with its bill processes cannot be mistaken for any other species. 

 Females resemble those of other Eiders but can be separated from two preceding species 

 by feathering of crown extending as far forward as rear of nostrils. 



Field Marks. Less amount of white on the back and bright yellow bill processes of 

 the male. Females cannot with certainty be distinguished from the other Eiders in life. 



Nesting. On the ground, lined with down. 



Distribution. The most northern of our Eiders. Nesting across the continent along 

 the coast and -'glands of the Arctic. Wintering along the gulf of St. Lawrence and New 

 England shores. It is the only Eider that straggles to the lower Great Lakes with any 

 regularity. 



Genus Oidemia. Scoters. 



163. American Scoter. BLACK SEA COOT. FR. LA MACREUSE D'AMERIQUE. 

 Oidemia americana. L, 19. Male all black; base of bill much swollen near forehead and 

 bright yellow. Female without swollen bill; dusky all over, lighter below and with evident 

 darker cap contrasting in a sharp line against lighter cheeks. 



Distinctions. Male is the only Canadian all-black Duck unrelieved by any spot of 

 colour. Dark cap of female is distinctive against other comparable species. 



