BIRDS. 93 



54. Somateria spectabilis, (L.) Boie. 



"Kingalalik," Cumberland Eskimo. "Siorakitsook" and "Kingalik," Green- 

 landers. 



The king eiders were not noticed till the 20th of June. I saw a few 

 large flocks at different times during spring ; but there were a hundred 

 mollissima to one spectabilis. They appear to keep by themselves, and 

 not to mix with mollissima, at least during the breeding season. I never 

 saw any on the eider islands. The Eskimo say that some years they 

 are very plenty and others very few are found. One Eskimo told me 

 that he once found them nesting in great numbers some distance up the 

 Greater Kingwah, but not in company with the common eider. They 

 arrive later and leave earlier than mollissima. In July I saw many of 

 these ducks, males and females, about America Harbor. The sexual 

 organs of those I procured were not developed, and they were all in the 

 plumage of the female. I suspected them to be such birds as were 

 thached very late the preceding season. Saw a great many in the same 

 plumage on the west coast of Davis Straits and around Disko Island ; 

 many of the males seemed to be assuming the plumage of the adult. 

 Governor Fencker told me that there were always a good number of these 

 birds around in summer that did not breed. Many flocks of male birds 

 were noticed west of Disko, all flying southward. Governor Fencker 

 has procured identified eggs of this duck at Upernavik by shooting the 

 parent on the nest. They are very common around Disko, but breed 

 farther north. I shot a half-grown young in Kingwah Fjord in October, 

 1877. The lump of fat at the base of the bill of the adult males is 

 esteemed a great delicacy with the Eskimo, and it is very seldom they 

 bring one back that does not have this choice tit-bit removed. 



55. CBdemia ? 



From the Middle Labrador coast north to lat. 67, I saw at different 

 times large scoters, but could not identify the species. 



I will here make mention of a duck that I saw on two or three occasions. 

 It seemed to have the size and general make-up of a scoter, but had 

 much white on the scapulars and about the head. A duck was winged 

 by one of the ship's officers ; he said it had a white ring around the neck 

 and the rest of the body was nearly all black. The bird that I saw was 

 unknown to me; it may possibly have been the Camptolcemus labra- 

 dorius. I find in my notes that the first one I saw was pronounced a 

 partially albino scoter; but, seeing more just like it, I gave this theory up. 



