THE EIDER DUCK. 199 



and their nests are strictly preserved. The state 

 of Maine would appear to be its most southern 

 limit in America during the breeding season, and 

 the Fern Islands in Great Britain in the latter 

 situation however its numbers have sadly de- 

 creased but it must be regarded as only a rare 

 and accidental winter visitor to other parts of 

 England. It is singular enough that in all these 

 countries, although so remote from each other, 

 the value of the down as an article of clothing 

 and commerce, and of the eggs as food, should be 

 equally well known to the natives. The eider 

 belongs to the marine division of the anatidte, in 

 which section we find a form more adapted for 

 diving than for rapid flight or terrestrial progres- 

 sion. The legs are larger than in the true ducks, 

 and placed farther back, the webs are wider, the 

 toes longer, and the hind one furnished with a 

 lobe ; and the keel of the sternum, or breast- 

 bone, is comparatively of but little depth ; while 

 the food consists of slugs, insects, and mollusca, 

 and is not of a vegetable nature, like that of the 

 teal, wigeon and mallard. 



The male eider is a handsome bird, nearly as 

 large as a goose, his colours black and white, with 

 a large patch of light pea green on the upper 

 portion of each side of his neck: the female is 

 somewhat smaller and clad in more homely attire, 



