ANA 



ANA 



dark : the neck is marked with longitudi- 

 nal dusky streaks, and the belly is deep 

 brown, spotted obscurely with black. 

 The eider duck lays from three to five 

 large, smooth, pale, olive-coloured eggs : 

 these she deposits and conceals in a nest, 

 or bed, made of a great quantity of the 

 soft, warm, elastic down, plucked from her 

 own breast, and sometimes from that of 

 her mate. The ground-work, or foun- 

 dation of the nest is formed of bent-grass, 

 sea-weeds, or such like coarse materials, 

 and it is placed in as sheltered a spot as 

 the bleak and solitary place can afford. 

 In Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, Lap- 

 land, and some parts of the coast of Nor- 

 way, the eiders flock together, in particu- 

 lar breeding places, in such numbers, and 

 their nests are so close together, that a 

 person in walking along can hardly avoid 

 treading upon them. The natives of these 

 cold climates eagerly watch the time when 

 the first hatchings of the eggs are laid : of 

 these they rob the nest, and also of the 

 more important article, the down with 

 which it is lined, which they carefully 

 gather and carry off. These birds will af- 

 terwards strip themselves of their remain- 

 ing down, and lay a second hatching, of 

 which also they are sometimes robbed : 

 but it is said that when this cruel treat- 

 ment is too often repeated, they leave the 

 place, and return to it no more. The quan- 

 tity of this valuable commodity, which is 

 thus annually collected in various parts, 

 is uncertain. Buffbn mentions one par- 

 ticular year, in which the Icelandic com- 

 pany sold as much as amounted to upwards 

 of eight hundred and fifty pounds sterling. 

 This, however, must be only a smail por- 

 tion of the produce, which is all sold by 

 the hardy natives, to stuff the couches of 

 the pampered citizens of more polished 

 nations. The great body of these birds 

 constantly resides in the remote northern, 

 frozen climates, the rigours of which their 

 thick clothing well enables them to bear. 

 They are said to keep together in flocks 

 in the open parts of the sea, fishing and 

 diving very deep in quest of shell-fish and 

 other food, with which the bottom is co- 

 vered; and when they have satisfied them- 

 selves, they retire to the shore, whither 

 they at all times repair for shelter, on the 

 approach of a storm. Other less numerous 

 flocks of the eiders branch out, colonize, 

 and breed further southward, in both Eu- 

 rope and America : they are found on til- 

 promontories and numerous isles of the 

 coa** of Norway, and on those of the nor- 

 thern, and the Hebrides or western isles 

 of Scotland, and also on the fern isles, on 



the Northumberland coast, which latter is 

 the only place where they are known to 

 breed in England, and may be said to be 

 their utmost southern limit in Lat quarter, 

 although a few solitary instances of single 

 birds being shot further southward along 

 the coast have sometimes happened. 



Anas Marilla, scaup duck, or Blue-bill. 

 This species measures, when stretched 

 out, nearly twenty inches in length, and 

 thirty-two in breadth. The bill is broad, 

 and flat, more than two inches long, from 

 the corners of the mouth to the * "p, and 

 of a fine pale blue or lead colour, with the 

 nail black : irides bright deep yellow : the 

 head and upper half of the neck are ' "ack, 

 glossed with green .- the lower part cf the 

 latter, au:l the breast, are of a sleek plain 

 black: the throat, rump, upper and under 

 coverts of the tail, and part of the '.highs, 

 are of the same colour, but dull am! more 

 inclining to brown. The tail, when spread 

 out, is fan-shaped, and consists of fourteen 

 short brown feathers. The legs are short, 

 toes long, and, as well as the ouU r or la- 

 teral webs of the inner toes, are of a dirty 

 pale blue colour; all the joints and the 

 rest of the webs are dusky. These birds 

 are said to vary greatly in their plumage, 

 as '.veil as size; but those which iiave 

 come under the author's observation were 

 all nearly alike. The scaup duck, like 

 others of the same genus, quits the ri- 

 gours of the dreary north in the winter 

 months, and in that season only is met. 

 with on various parts of the An :rican 

 shores. It is well known in England. 



Anas Clangula, the golden-eye. The 

 weight of this species varies from twenty- 

 six ounces to two pounds. The length is 

 nineteen inches, and the breadth thirty- 

 one. These birds do not congregate in 

 large flocks, they are vai-ied with black 

 and white ; head tumid, violet; at each 

 corner of the mouth a white spot They 

 are frequent in the waters of the United 

 States during the winter, and take their 

 departure northward in the spring. In 

 their flight they make the air whistle with 

 the vigorous quick strokes of their wings; 

 they are excellent divers, and seldom set 

 foot on the shore, upon which, it is said, 

 they walk with great apparent difficulty, 

 and, except in the breeding season, only 

 repair to it for the purpose of taking their 

 repose. The attempts which were made 

 by M.Baillon to doir.esticate these b ; rds, 

 he informs the Count de Buffo n, quite 

 failed of success. See Plate III. Aves, 

 fig. 1 to 5. 



ANAS ARC A, in medicine, a species of 

 dropsy, wherein the skin appears puffed 



