ANATIDE. 461 
THE KING-EIDER. 
SOMATERIA SPECTABILIS (Linnzus). 
The King-Eider is an inhabitant of the Arctic regions, and its 
visits to our coasts are rare, though naturally more frequent in the 
north than in the south. Mr. J. H. Gurney has a female which was 
purchased—freshly killed—in Leadenhall Market by the late Mr. 
Gatcombe, who had previously seen an immature bird at Plymouth ; 
in Norfolk a young male was obtained in January 1888, and two 
females were shot in November 1890; and a bird was killed at 
Bridlington in Yorkshire as longago as August 1850. At the Farne 
Islands, which seem very attractive to this species, adults of both 
sexes have been observed from time to time in summer, and mature 
drakes were secured in November 1873 and April 1885, respectively. 
In Scotland birds have been obtained or identified by competent 
observers off the coasts of Haddingtonshire and the Firths of Forth 
and Tay; while in the Orkneys four have been taken (two of them 
in spring). In Ireland, Kingstown Harbour, Belfast Lough, Rathlin 
Island and Achill Island have each yielded a specimen ; all of them 
in winter and at long intervals. 
Even on the shores of Holland, Denmark and the Baltic the 
King-Eider is very rare; but there is a specimen in the Museum 
