ANATINiE — THE DUCKS - SOMATERIA. 



86 



liidwii ; \viiit,'-of>vert«, rumij^eH, mul rcctrict's pluin gwjihh duHky, tliu iiriiimries duikfr ; gn-utiT 

 ciivui'Ih mul rn'oiiidariex Hcimi-ly, it at all, ti|iptMl with white ; niiu[) iifaiiy phkiii diiMky. Adult 

 f, null', in (UttnmH: Uich ciiiiianioii-rnfoiiM, variuil with black iiuicli U8 in the Humiiur iiliiiiia^e ; 

 alHloiiii'U aii<l anal region ]ilaiii bruwii ; greater coverUt mid Hecuuduiiun diiiliuctl)' tipjied with 

 white. } 01(11'/ vial', : Head mid iieclc ]daiii 

 uiidMir-hriiwii ; iii)i>er parts diiHky, the feathers 

 liordered with fiilvmis, esju'cially the HcajtiilarH ; 

 riiiiiii, greater wing-coverts, reniiges, and tail 

 jilaiu dusky ; njiper tail-coverts and lower parts 

 harred with pale fulvous and dusky, the ah- 

 donieu nearly plain grayish-brown. "Bill 

 ]iiile greenish gray; iris dull yellow; feet 

 ilull ochre" (Audubon). Young female: Sim- 

 ilar to the young male, but head and neck 

 grayish-bull', finely streaked with dusky. 



Total length, about 2().(K>-25.(M) inches ; 

 wing, m.-IO-H.^S ; bill, from base of frontal 

 lobe totip, in thenude, 1.2(>-1.3() ; tarsus, 1.8(V- 

 \.m\ nii<ldle toe, 2.20. 



The female of this species may be easily 

 distinguished from that of the Common mid 

 Pacific Eiders (.S*. mullimvia and S. I'-niffrum) 

 by llie very dilfereiit outline of the foalheiing 

 at the base of the 1)ill, as explained in the 

 <liagiiostic table on page 73. 



Tlie King Eider is an Arctic bird very 

 cUiwi'ly rt'seinijjiiig in its general habits 

 tlu^ two otlier species of the genus Somu- 

 tcrla, but nowhere so abundant as they 

 are, although nu)re generally di.stributed, 

 since it is found on the Pacific shores of 

 America and Asia, where the Common 

 Eider does not occur, as well as on tlie 

 Atianti ; coasts of Europe and America. 



])r. Hessels mentions the King Duck as one of the species secured in the northern 

 waters of Smith's Sound by the "Polaris " Exi)edition, under Captain Hall ; and I^Ir. 

 W. II. Ecilden, in his notes on the birds procunnl in the Arctic Expedition of 1875- 

 1S7<>, states that in the end of Jiuu', 1876, several flock.s of males and females, nnni- 

 bcring from ten to twenty individual.s, were seen near FloelH'rg Peach, lat. 82" 'JT. 

 iSIost of them fell a i)rey t(» the hunters, but tlidse that escaped st^ttled down to breed 

 along the coast; and several nests were found witli fresh eggs between the 9tli and 

 the middle of Jul}'. 



Mr. Kumlien mentions the .urival of Ducks of this species at Cund)erland by 

 tile 20th of iTune ; but they were much less abundant than S. inolf!.i.shH(i. Tliey 

 keep apart from all other kinds during tlic breeding-season. He was told by the 

 Eskimos that in some seasons they arc miudi more abundant than in others, and that 

 tiiey came later and left earlier than the Eider. A large jiroportion of those seen 

 were evidently immature or barren birds, and were not breeding, Tlu'se Ducks were 

 very common aI)out Disco — breeding, liowever, farther north. 



Professor Reinhardt gives this Duck as a resident species in Greenland. Dr. 

 Walker met with it on the coast near the settlement of Ciodthaab. In the follow- 

 ing Juue ho noted its arrival early in that month at its sujiposed breeding-grounds, 



Female 



