300 BRITISH BIKDS. [vol. xv. 



THE RACES OF EIDER DUCKS. 

 To the Editors of British Birds. 



Sirs, — I notice in the Practical Handbook of British Birds, p. 361, 

 that the basal part of the upper mandible of the adult male Common 

 Eider (Somateria nioUissima molHssima) is given as oil-green. In 

 British Birds, \o\. VII., p. 119, I pointed out that this is orange-yellow 

 in life, but commences to fade soon after death, finally becoming green. 

 I also mentioned that in the wrongly named Pacific Eider with the 

 black V-mark on the throat, in the Oldham Museum, this orange was 

 so stable as to still survive after the bird was set up (the bird was 

 of course only a Common Eider). 



In the Greenland Eider (S. vi. borealis) you state that the bill in 

 spring is bright orange-yellow. If this be the case, then it is com- 

 paratively common in Orkney and Shetland, particularly in early 

 spring. Personally I do not think that norvegica, faeroeensis and 

 borealis are worthy of sub-specific rank, but that if they are, then 

 dresseri and v-nigrum should be given full specific rank. Finally I 

 might add that, according to the description of them given in this 

 Handbook, I have shot and handled norvegica, faeroeensis and borealis 

 in Orkney, but still contend that they are Common Eiders (5. nioUis- 

 sima), although I have handled some peculiar types and seen even 

 more peculiar ones through the glass. If these races are separable, 

 then, considering what a truly marine duck the Eider is, and the 

 close proximity of their supposed ranges, one would naturally expect 

 to find them in Orkney in winter. H. W. Robinson. 



[The Editor having submitted Mr. Robinson's letter to me for 

 reply as the author of the descriptions of the Ducks in the Practical 

 Handbook, I have consulted Sharpe's Catalogue of Birds, Macgillivray's 

 British Birds, Dresser's Birds of Europe, Dr. Hartert's Vog. pal. Fauna, 

 and Millais's British Diving Ducks, and in no case do I find that the 

 basal part of the upper mandible of 5. m. molHssima is described as 

 orange-yellow. Sharpe and Dresser describe it as " dull olive-green 

 almost olive-yellow in old birds," while Millais, who I take it has 

 seen a considerable number in the flesh, describes the bill as " olive- 

 green above blending to blue-grey below and in front of nostril, etc." 

 Koenig in his Avifauna Spitzbergensis gives a coloured plate of the bills 

 of S. m. norvegica and 5. m. borealis for comparison, the bill of S. m. 

 norvegica has the base of the upper mandible olive-green with an olive- 

 yellow tinge, that of S. m. borealis is shown as bright orange-yellow. 

 I believe I am right in stating that this plate is from paintings made 

 on the spot b}' the artist. I have also obtained the opinions of Lord 

 William Percy and Mr. E. L. Schioler. Lord William Percy describes 

 it as " Olive-green above (the shade of Spanish olives as hors d'aeuvres) 

 blending into french grey below the nostril and slightly forward from 

 it, lower mandible french grey along the edge, nail yellowish-horn," 

 while Mr. Schioler remarks that orange-yellow is certainly the word 

 he would use to describe the bill of S. m. borealis and should not be 

 used for S. m. molHssima, and he sends a plate to demonstrate the 

 difference. 



As to the supposed occurrence of norvegica, faeroeensis and borealis 

 in Orkney, I should much like to see the specimens referred to, and 

 also suggest that Mr. Robinson should submit them to the B.O.U. 

 List Committee for identification. At the same time I would point 

 out that the Common Eider, except in the far north, is normally a 

 resident and not a migratory species. A. C. Meinertzhagen.) 



