ANATIN^ — THE DUCKS — SOMATERIA. 



70 



I 



The Eider can easily be domesticated, especially -vvlien raised from the egg, becoming 

 accustomed to feed on corn and meal, and is as tame and contented in confinement as 

 the Mallard. It is necessary, however, that the bird be provided with an abun- 

 dant supply of gravel and of varied food. The cry of the female when startled from 

 her nest is described as being 

 a hoarse rolling croak. The 

 food of this species consists 

 largely of shellfish, the shells 

 of which are broken in pieces 

 by the muscular gizzards of 

 the birds, aided by coarse 

 gravel. 



Dr. Henry Bryant, who vis- 

 ited Labrador in the summer 

 of 1860, gives an interest- 

 ing account of his observa- 

 tions on the breeding of the 

 Eider on that coast. We 

 copy substantially his narra- 

 tive. He found it still breed- 

 ing in great abundance along 

 the whole extent of the shore, 

 some nests being placed under 

 the shelter of the dwarf-firs 

 and jvinipers, although the 

 favorite breeding-places were 

 the little grassy islands 

 found in bays, and particu- 

 larly those where small spots 

 of turf were protected by a 

 rock from the prevailing 

 wind. On many islands an 

 umbelliferous plant grows 

 abundantly, the shelter of 



whose thick foliage these birds seemed to prefer. It was not often that many nests 

 were found on one island — from one to a dozen being the ordinary number; but 

 on Greenlet Island he found over sixty ; and this was probably not a quarter of the 

 whole number. This island was peculiarly well adapted to the wants of this Duck, 

 being covered with a thick growth of this umbelliferous plant, but slightly eh-.-ated 

 above the water, and at a distance from the mainland. He found on this island a 

 nest in a small stone hut made for the purpose of concealing the hunters in the 

 spring. Many nests Avere seen in which the down was quite clean, and he believed 

 that it is always so if the bird is undisturbed ; but after the nest has been frequently 

 robbed, the supply of this material is not sufficient, and whatever substitute is most 

 convenient has to be taken in its place : so that, late in the season, nests are found 

 without any down. Some contained fresh eggs, and others were only just finished, 

 as late as the middle of July. Audubon states that the eggs are deposited on 

 the grass, etc., of which the nest is principally composed ; Dr. Bryant, however, did 

 not see a single instance in which this had been done, provided there was any down ; 

 and nearly every day, during the first week or two, he found nests containing freshly 



Female. 



