146 



THE INHABITANTS OF THE SEA. 



impermeable. 



Snow Goose. 



our southern clime. 



Surely the sea bird has no right to complain of 

 imperfect clothing or a deficient outfit ! 

 The numerous members of the duck 

 family, or the Anatidse, mostly live 

 during the summer in higher latitudes, 

 and wander in winter in countless swarms 

 towards sunnier regions ; as, for instance, 

 the Snow Goose and the- Barnacle. 

 Some remain throughout the year in 

 Great Britain, some only during the 

 winter; while others, which are more 

 particularly birds of the Arctic zone, but 

 very seldom make their appearance in 

 Most Anatidse prefer the lake, the river, 

 tbe pond, or the morass; but many of. them are true littoral 



birds, and spend a great part of their 

 time swimming and fishing in the 

 sea. 



The Eider Duck, {Anas vnollis- 

 sima,) which attains nearly double the 

 size of the common duck, inhabits the 

 higher latitudes of Europe, Asia, and 

 America. One of its most remarkable 

 breeding places is on the small island 

 of Vidoe near Reikiavik (Iceland), 

 where it lives under the protection of the law ; a person who 

 should chance to kill a breeding bird having to pay a fine of thirty 

 dollars. 



" As our boat approached the shore," 

 says Mackenzie, ("Voyage through Ice- 

 land,") "we came through a multitude 

 of thesQ beautiful birds, who hardly gave 

 themselves the trouble to move out of 

 Eider Duck. the way. Between the landing place and 



the house of the old governor the ground was covered with them, 

 and it was necessary to walk cautiously not to tread upon their 

 nests. The ganders went about with a cackle resembling the 

 cooing of a pigeon, and were even more familiar than our 

 common duck. Eound about the house, on the garden wall, on 

 the roofs, even in the inside of the huts and the chapel, they .sat 



Barnacle Goose. 



