348 EIDER DUCK. 



ber, tasted as well as the mallard. The males were tougher and more 

 fishy, so that we rarely ate of them, although the fishermen and settlers 

 paid no regard to sex in this matter. 



When the female Eider is suddenly discovered on her nest, she takes 

 to wing at a single spring ; but if she sees her enemy at some distance, 

 she walks off a few steps, and then flies away. If unseen by a person 

 coming near, as may often happen, when the nest is placed under the 

 boughs of the dwarf fir, she will remain on it, although she may hear 

 people talking. On such occasions my party frequently discovered the 

 nests by raising the pine branches, and were often as much startled as the 

 ducks themselves could be, as the latter instantly sprung past them on 

 wing, uttering a harsh cry. Now and then some were seen to alight on 

 the ground within fifteen or twenty yards, and walk as if lame and bro- 

 ken-winged, crawling slowly away, to entice their enemies to go in pur- 

 suit. Generally, however, they would fly to the sea, and remain there in 

 a large flock until their unwelcome visitors departed. When pursued by 

 a boat, with their brood around them, they allowed us to come up to 

 shooting distance, when, feigning decrepitude, they would fly off, beating 

 the water with partially extended wings, while the young either dived or 

 ran on the surface with wonderful speed, for forty or fifty yards, then 

 suddenly plunged, and seldom appeared at the surface unless for a mo- 

 ment. The mothers always flew away as soon as their brood dispersed, 

 and then ended the chase. The cry or note of the female is a hoarse roll- 

 in «• croak ; that of the male I never heard. 



Should the females be robbed of their eggs, they immediately go oft' 

 in search of mates, whether their previous ones or not I cannot tell, al- 

 though I am inclined to think so. However this may be, the duck in 

 such a case soon meets with a drake, and may be seen returning the same 

 day with him to her nest. They swim, fly, and walk side by side, and 

 by the end of ten or twelve days the male takes his leave, and rejoins 

 his companions out at sea, while the female is found sitting on a new set 

 of eggs, seldom, however, exceeding four. But this happens only at an 

 early period of the season, for I observed that as soon as the males had 

 begun to moult, the females, whose nests had been plundered, abandoned 

 the place. One of the most remarkable circumstances connected with 

 these birds is, that the females with broods are fully three weeks later 

 in moulting than the males, whereas those which do not breed begin 

 to moult as early as they. This may probably seem strange, but I 



