644 



the upper breast warm cream-colour, rest of the underparts black ; bill red, the nail yellowish, and the 

 naked protuberance on the upper mandible bright orange ; feet dull orange-reddish ; the webs blackish ; 

 iris dark brown. Total length about 21 "5 inches, gape 2 - 35, wing 103, tail 3o, tarsus 1*7. 



Adult Female (Archangel, 15th September). Eesembles the female of Somateria mollissima, but is smaller, 

 rather darker in general coloration, and may easily be distinguished by the central line of the feathers 

 on the upper mandible running quite down to the nostrils, whereas in Somateria mollissima it does not 

 reach halfway. 



Young Male (Arctic America) . Head, neck, and upper breast as in the female, but the swelling on the bill 

 is just beginning to show ; the back, upper parts generally, and rest of the underparts are as in the old 

 male, but are duller, the white is patchy, and the upper parts are a little varied with brown. 



Young in down. According to Von Middendorff the young in down closely resembles that of the common 

 Eider, but is lighter and more yellowish grey above ; but even in this plumage the young of the two 

 are distinguishable by the form of the down-covered portions at the base of the bill. 



The present species, like the common Eider, inhabits the northern portions of Europe, Asia, and 

 America, straggling southward during winter ; but it is found further north than Somateria 

 mollissima. 



It only appears in Great Britain as a rare straggler ; and it is doubtful if it has ever remained 

 to breed with us. Bullock, it is true, told Montagu that he found it breeding in Papa Westra, 

 one of the Orkney Islands ; but no subsequent ornithologist or collector has ever found it breeding 

 there, and it is almost certain that he was mistaken. In Scotland it is of very rare occurrence. 

 Dr. Saxby expresses doubt as to whether it should be included in the list of Shetland birds, and, 

 referring to the record of one stated by Mr. Dunn to have been obtained at Wensdale Voe, near 

 Hoy, Shetland, remarks that there is neither a Wensdale Voe nor a Hoy in Shetland, but that 

 there is a well-known island called Hoy in Orkney. Mr. Gould exhibited one obtained in 

 Orkney at a meeting of the Zoological Society in November 1832; and Mr. E. Hargitt has lent 

 me for examination a female shot by himself in Orkney in May 1868. 



According to Mr. St. John it is seen rarely at the entrance of the Kyle of Tongue ; and 

 Mr. Eobert Walker has published in the ' Scottish Naturalist,' April 1873, some interesting 

 notes respecting the occurrence of a small flock in St. Andrews Bay and the mouth of the Tay, 

 from which I extract the following, viz. : — " On the morning of the 6th of March, 1872, I saw a 

 number of Ducks swimming about opposite the old castle of St. Andrews. At first I took them 

 for Eiders, as this is rather a favourite place for that bird ; and although somewhat surprised at 

 their early appearance, I was inclined to ascribe this to the mildness of the past winter. They 

 were a considerable way out at sea, and seemed to me to consist of five females and two males. 

 After watching closely for some time, it struck me forcibly that there was something or other in 

 their appearance and attitudes that I could not quite reconcile with my previous acquaintance 

 with the manner of the Eider Duck. Still at the time, and even yet, I could not define precisely 

 what the difference really was ; further (and this to some extent supplemented from what I after- 

 wards saw of them), they seemed to be quicker in their movements, and exhibited a more restless 

 unstable-like behaviour than is the custom of the 'Dunter.' I could not be positively certain of 

 seeing these Ducks again for some days. One morning, however, about a week afterwards, I 



