CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. IO9 



(Packard.) Northeastern North America, south in winter to Mas- 

 sachusetts. (A. 0. U. List.) Abundant north of Hamilton Inlet, 

 Labrador. (Bigelow.) Winter visitor in Nova Scotia. (H. F. Tufts.) 

 According to Dr. Schmitt this bird is common on Anticosti. It 

 arrives in September and departs at the end of April or beginning 

 of May and nests on the Mingan islands. (Dionne.) Common 

 around FuUerton, Hudson Bay and in all the region north to North 

 Devon. (A. P. Low.) The eider duck {Somateria mollissima) is 

 to be seen everywhere on the coasts of Ellsemere island as soon as 

 there are splits in the ice in the spring. Its food consists mainly of 

 the prickly and little attractive sea urchin. The nests are some- 

 times found singty, scattered about on the shore, sometimes on 

 islets in the rivers (now and then far up the valleys), r^nd some- 

 times on the small islands. Thus numerous eiders breed on St. 

 Helena and Djseveloen, which were the only bird islands met with 

 by the expedition. The eiders remain in the autumn as long as 

 there is the smallest amount of open water. This is partly because 

 the broods do not begin to Ay until very late in the season. Eider- 

 duck were seen as late as October 17, 1901, in a creek at Ytre Eidet 

 in Hvalrosfjord. (£. Bay.) If is probable that some of the Hudson 

 Bay references under the next species should go here. 



160. American Eider. 



Somateria dresseri. Sharpe. 1871. 



The most abundant species of duck in Newfoundland, but rapidly 

 growing scarce owing to the destruction of eggs. (Reeks.) Common. 

 Breeds on Isle Haut, Bay of Fundy. (Downs.) Abundant south of 

 Hamilton inlet, Labrador, where it takes the place occupied by 

 5. borealis in the north. (Bigelow.) Resident in Nova Scotia. 

 Nest with seven eggs taken on Seal Island, June 1906. (H.F Tufts.) 

 Common in winter on the south coast of Labrador, in the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence, and up the St. Lawrence to Quebec. (Dionne.) Eider 

 ducks in immature plumage, which I take to be this species, have 

 been occasionally shot at Montreal in the fall. (Wintle.) Rather 

 common from York Factory northward. Said to breed in large 

 numbers on certain rocky islands north of Fort Churchill. (Preble.) 

 Common in Hudson strait, and seen at York Factory and Churchill 

 and on the East Main coast of Hudson bay. (Dr. R. Bell.) Com- 

 mon from a short distance north of Moose Factory to Richmond 



