The Eider Duck.- 



-BIRDS.- 



-The Goosasdkr. 



423 



length; it has the head and neck chestnut- red, tlie lower 

 part of the neck and the breast deep black, and the 

 rest of the plumage freckled with delicate gray spots 

 and lines upon a white ground. The eye is red. This 

 bird is a winter visitor to this country, and breeds in 

 the extreme northern parts of both hemispheres. Its 

 flesh, when it feeds in fresh waters, is exceedingly 

 good ; but specimens killed on the sea-shore are 

 coarse, and of a bad flavour. The Canvas-backed 

 Duck {A. Valisneria) of North America, a nearly- 

 allied species, is noted for the goodness of its flesh. 



THE TUFTED DUCK {Fuligida cristata) is another 

 abimdant and well-known British species, which chiefly 

 frequents the sea-coast. It occurs all over the nor- 

 thern parts of the Old World. This is a short and 

 stout-bodied bird, with a small crest on the back of 

 the head ; the male has the head and neck and the 

 back black, and the lower surface white, whilst the 

 female is dark brown above and grayish white beneath. 

 Its length is about seventeen inches. 



Of other allied species we may mention the HAR- 

 LEQUIN Duck {Fuligula histrionica), tlie Scaup 

 Duck {F. marila), the Golden-eye (F. dangula), 

 the BuFFEL-HEADED DuCK (F. albeolu), and the 

 Long-tailed Duck {Harelda gladaUs), all of which 

 visit our shores for the winter season. 



THE EIDEK DUCK {Somateria mollissima)—fis. 132 

 ■ — an inhabitant of some parts of the British coasts, 



especially towards the north of Scotland, is most abun- 

 dant in the extreme north of both hemispheres, where 

 it breeds amongst the rocks of the coasts in vast quan- 

 tities. The male of this species has the cheeks white, 

 the top of the head black, the back of the head green, 

 the back and smaller wing-feathers white, the jiriniaries 

 and secondaries and the great wing-coverts black, the 

 lower surface and tail black, and the neck white, 

 with its lower part pale buff; the bill is dusky green, 

 with its tip white, and the feet are green. The length 

 is rather more than two feet. The female is pale brown, 

 variegated with spots of a darker brown. 



The Eider Duck frequents the sea-coast and feeds 

 upon marine animals. It is highly valued on account 

 of the great quantity of very fine, soft, and elastic down 

 which it produces, and which is most abundant in the 

 breeding season, at which period the female plucks this 

 delicate substance from her skin, and employs it as a 

 lining for her nest. The down is collected from the 

 nests by the inhabitants of countries where Eider 

 Ducks abound ; and as the female continues to lay 

 and to pull the down from her body for a considerable 

 time when thus plundered, it is said that she will fur- 

 nish as much as half a pound of this material in the 

 course of the season. It is ranch esteemed for its warmth 

 and lightness, and is employed in the manufacture of 

 quilts and similar articles. 



THE COMMON SCOTER [Oldemia ninra) is entirely 



Fij;. 13-.;. 



'I iie l;i.ii'i- Uiick \S>iii;.i.L-r.;i iiio:li.-jSiiuaj. 



of a black colour, with only the ridge of the upper 

 mandible orange; the female is paler and blackish- 

 brown. Its length is about nineteen inches. This 

 bird is a winter visitor to our coasts, and feeds upon 

 nmssels and other bivalve mollusca, which it procures 

 by diving, an exercise in which this and all the marine 

 ducks are very expeil. 



THE LOBATED DUCK {Hijdrohates lohatns), a native 

 of Southern Australia, is remarkable for the singular 

 leathery flap which bangs down beneath the lower 

 mandible in the male. The plumage of this bird is of 



It 



a blackish colour, crossed by numerous paler lines, 

 measures about thirty inches in length. 



THE GOOSAKDER {Mergus Merganser) — fig. 133. 

 Besides the preceding forms, which all possess a broad 

 and more or less depressed bill, the present family in- 

 cludes a considerable number of species in which that 

 organ is nearly cylindrical, or even compressed, with 

 the upper mandible terminated by a strongly hooked 

 nail. These birds frequent both inland waters and the 

 sea-shore, and are chiefly confined to the northern 

 parts of the world. They are exceedingly active in 



