THE KING EIDER. 349 



part, and again replace her, where she lays afresh and pulls 

 more down. This process is continued, not only till the 

 female can furnish no more down, but till the male also is in 

 part denuded, as he comes to assist as soon as the supply of 

 the female becomes exhausted. Half a pound is the average 

 quantity obtained from one female in the course of the season ; 

 and the product is said to be greatest when the season is 

 rainy. The down of the eider is the lightest and softest of 

 animal coverings, and perhaps the worst conductor of heat, 

 and therefore the warmest clothing that is known. The pre- 

 pared skins of the eider also make light and warm clothing ; 

 and their flesh is wholesome and much more palatable than 

 that of most of the sea ducks. 



They are large birds. The male is about two feet three 

 inches in length, more than three feet in the spread of the 

 wings, and weighs six or seven pounds. In the latter part 

 of the winter and the spring, they swim in flocks, and their 

 motions on the water are peculiarly graceful. Though they 

 generally return to their haunts at night, they often make 

 pretty long excursions during the day ; and they are well 

 adapted for such flights, for, soft and heavy as they are, it 

 has been ascertained that the rate of their motion on the 

 wing is not less than eighty or ninety miles an hour. Alto- 

 gether they are among the most interesting of our sea 

 birds. 



THE KING EIDER (Somateria spectabilis). 



This species inhabits farther to the north than the former, 

 being abundant on the polar shores of both continents. It is 

 rare as a British bird, and can hardly be said to appear 

 upon even the northern shores of the mainland in any 

 other character than that of a straggler ; but in some of 

 the more remote islands it breeds, at least occasionally, 



