116 ANATID.E. 



THE KING EIDER. 



King Duck. 



Somateria spectahilis, Linn, (sp.) 

 Alias „ „ 



Is extremely rare. 



In the ' Annals of Natural History' (vol. v. p. 6), I recorded 

 the occurrence of a female bird which was shot at Kingstown 

 harbour, near Dublin, about the 1st of October, 1837, and a few 

 hours afterwards came into the possession of Mr. R. Ball : when 

 first seen it was accompanied by two others. The specimen is 

 preserved in the University Museum, Dubhn. Mr. R. Chute 

 has obtained two king eiders on the coast of Kerry (as determined 

 by comparison of their bills with drawings of those of the eider 

 and king eider), one in the winter of 1843, from Derrynane, and 

 the other in that of 1845-46, from Tralee Bay : they were either 

 females or immature males. On the 11th of March, 1850, a bird 

 of this species, while swimming alone, was shot in Belfast Bay, 

 and came under my examination on the 12th. Its weight was 

 3 lbs. 5 oz. The entire bill was dusky, having the colour and 

 general appearance of india-rubber as it is sold at the stationers\ 

 Tarsi and toes very pale olive or dull fawn-colour; the membranes 

 dusky. Irides very dark brown. On dissection, it was found to 

 be a female; the eggs only one-twelfth of an inch in diameter. The 

 stomach was tilled with the remains of Crustacea and moUusca, 

 viz., an Inachus of middle size, the largest Portumis arcvatus that 

 I had seen (and perfect excepting the arms), a Nucula margari- 

 tacea, and a small buckie-whelk {Bticcinum uiidatum). 



The preceding notes relate to more king eiders than are on 

 record as obtained in Great Britain, south of the Orkney Islands,"^ 

 at least until 1845. Mr. Macgillivray mentions the species as 



* It is n.lv " a rare occasional visitant" to these islands. — 'Hist. Nat. Oread.' 

 (1848), 



