222 DIVING DUCKS. 



EIDER DUCK— Plate 98. 2-'5 inches. Crown 

 black, divided behind by a broad, greenish -white 

 streak ; face and throat white ; nape pale green ; 

 upper parts white, but black towards the tail ; tail 

 black, with a white spot on each side ; wings black, 

 with white at the bend and along the inner edge : 

 chest rosy-buff; under parts black; bill, legs, and 

 feet olive -green. Female: brown, mottled with 

 blackish centres to the feathers ; lighter brown 

 underneath. Eesident. 



Eggs.— 5-8, green; 3x2 inches (plate 131). 



Nest. — Of fine grass and seaweed, lined with the 

 well-known ' eider-down,' and plaped usually on low 

 islands near to water. 



Distribution. — As a breeder from the Fame Islands 

 to the north of Scotland, also on some of the islands 

 on the west of Scotland ; known only as a winter 

 visitor in small numbers on the west and south coasts 

 of England and on the Irish coast. ^ 



The Common Eider Duck is a resident breeding 

 species from the Fame Islands to the Shetlands, and 

 also on the islands on the west coast of Scotland. It 

 is a thorough sea Duck, gregarious at all times, but 

 more so in winter, frequenting shoals, where it dives 

 to take crabs, shellfish, and crustaceans. Flying low 

 over the water, it may travel far from land, its 

 presence at any spot being determined solely by the 

 fact that the sea-bottom is accessible to the bird 

 when diving, and not by its distance from the shore. 

 It goes rarely to land, and then only at night or in 

 the breeding season. Usually a silent bird, it emits 



