DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. 201 



round and round her, guarding her from the atten- 

 tions of rivals. This cooing noise may be heard 

 for a long distance across a quiet loch, especially, as 

 often happens, if several drakes are together. 



The favourite nesting places of the Eider Duck 

 are low, rocky islands, well covered with marine 

 vegetation, such as campion, thrift, and grass. Late 

 in spring the flocks begin to separate more into 

 pairs, although the immature non-breeding indivi- 

 duals may be observed to continue gregarious all the 

 summer, and not to visit the nesting stations. The 

 laying season is in May and June. The female 

 alone selects a site for and makes the nest, the 

 male rarely, if ever, visiting the spot, although 

 he keeps in attendance on the sea near the islands, 

 and joins her when she comes to feed. The nest is 

 made upon the ground, sometimes amongst the 

 dense beds of campion, sometimes in a crevice of the 

 boulders, or on a ledge of rock. Occasionally, as I 

 remarked at St. Kilda, it may be placed on the top 

 of cliffs hundreds of feet above the sea. It is large 

 and well made, consisting of coarse grass, dry 

 seaweed, heather, and bits of dead vegetation, 

 profusely lined with down and a few curly feathers 

 from the body of the female alone. This lining 

 gradually accumulates as the eggs are laid. 

 Numbers of nests may be found close together, 

 especially where the birds are tolerably common, 

 as, for instance, at the Fame Islands, where, by the 

 way, the Eider is known as " St. Cuthbert's Duck." 



