140 ANATID^E' 



Adult male, post-nuptial or eclipse. The back and 

 scapulars are chequered with blackish-brown, much darker 

 than in the female. 



Adult female nuptial. The plumage of the female is 

 chiefly light reddish-brown, chequered and barred with 

 black ; the shades of the head and neck are lighter than 

 those of the breast and abdomen. 



Adult winter, male and female. Similar to the respective 

 nuptial plumages. 



Immature, male and female. Resembles closely the 

 female plumage. 



BEAK. Greenish. 



FEET. Dull greenish-brown. 



IRIDES. Dark brown. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 23 in. 



WING 11 



BEAK 2'25 



TARSO-METATABSUS T75 ,, 



EGG 3x2 in. 



Allied Species and ^Representative Forms. Somateria 

 v-nigrum, a larger species, and differing in that the male 

 has a black mark under the chin, inhabits Behring Sea. 



S. mollissima borealis inhabits Greenland and districts to 

 the west in Arctic America. 



S. dresseri, with " the bare space near the base of the 

 bill rounded rather than triangular, and the sides of the 

 crown greener," inhabits Southern Labrador, extending to 

 the Delaware in winter (Saunders). 



KING-EIDER. Somateria spectabilis (Linnaeus). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, pi. 

 27; Dresser, 'Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 446; Lilford, 

 ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 53. 



This Arctic Duck is a rare visitant to British seas, more 

 especially along the south coast. It has been obtained on a 



