MORE OF THE WILD DUCK FAMILY 245 



nothing remarkable in the tameness of the sitting 

 duck. Not only Eiders, but other birds of naturally 

 wild and suspicious nature, have allowed themselves 

 to be lifted off their nests, and placed back again 

 when hatching out their eggs. 



A pair of these birds make a very good show in 

 a glass case if well set up. Specimens for preserv- 

 ing are generally shot on open waters far out at 

 sea, by those who hire the stout North Sea boats 

 for fowling on the tide in rough weather. With 

 the eider-down question I have nothing to do, be- 

 yond hazarding the remark that if all the so-called 

 quilts advertised for the benefit of a shivering 

 public are eider-down, the birds must grow it on 

 their bodies in immense quantities. The swallow- 

 ing capacity of the Eider is something to wonder 

 at, especially if the bird happens to have been shot 

 after a full feed of crabs and other small fry. As 

 fowl are generally carried head downwards be- 

 cause the feet are so convenient for gripping, the 

 cargo they have packed breaks bulk again. From 

 the nature of their food they are not particularly 

 sought after as birds for the table. 



When the young Eiders are on the water, their 

 mother's chief care is to watch for the Black-backed 

 Gulls of both species ; not, however, that the greater 

 and lesser Cobs persecute the Eiders more than other 

 fowl. I have seen some of their work ; size is not 

 of the least consequence to them, as all young birds 

 are sure to be tender. The young of all coast birds, 

 and sometimes the parents themselves, suffer from 



