226 BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS. 



of every submerged reef and shallow are well known to them. 

 But while the Scaup contents himself with the smaller shell- 

 fish and Crustacea, the Eider, with his strong, hooked beak, 

 can crush and devour dog-crabs nearly as broad across as 

 one's fist : from the gullet of an Eider drake I have shaken 

 out three or four big crabs, on holding him up by the 

 legs. 



Eiders are specially fond of going ashore to sun themselves 

 on the edge of a reef or rocky island. In such positions, 

 among the black rocks, one would imagine an old Eider 

 drake would be a very conspicuous object ; but it is not so. 

 It is surprisingly easy to sail past a dozen of them unper- 

 ceived, so precisely does their bold black and white plumage 

 harmonize with the broken water, and with the great balls of 

 foam which are driven up on to the rocks by the wind and 

 sea. Eiders, or, as they are locally called, " Culvers," are 

 quite common on parts of the N.E. coast ; but Northumber- 

 land has the honour of being the only English county where 

 they remain to breed. Their nests are placed both on the 

 rocks and among the bent grass along the sand-links, 

 and contain five green eggs. During winter, the sexes 

 are often found congregated separately, but in that case 

 there are usually to be seen a few precocious females 

 among the packs of drakes. In the month of March, as 

 the nesting season approaches, Eiders are apt to draw into 

 the harbours and sand-flats places they never frequent in 

 winter. 



Another handsome bird which spends the winter with 

 us is the Long-tailed Duck. These also get their living by 

 diving, but in a very different manner to the two species 

 just described, whose food, as stated, consists of shell-fish, 

 thus restricting them to places where the bottom is rocky and 

 of no great depth. Hence the Eiders and Scaups are usually 

 met with close inshore, or, if found diving at a distance from 

 land, the fact will be explained by the existence of a sub- 

 marine reef. In no case do they dive where the depth ex- 

 ceeds, perhaps, two or three fathoms. Their food is exclu- 

 sively on the sea-bottom ; but that of the Long-tail is in 

 mid- water ; that is to say, the latter bird does not require to 



