THE KING EIDER 387 
THE KING EIDER. 
(Somateria spectabilis.) 
The Eiders of North America include five 
species. Of these the American, Greenland 
and King Eiders are visitors or residents on 
the northeastern coast. The present species is 
another ‘‘Sea Duck.’’ It lives mostly in the 
open ocean and spends comparatively little time 
ashore even for one of his seafaring race. His 
is a life of perfect independence. He is at 
home wherever he alights on ‘‘blue water’’ and 
never a worriment is his—never a fear of pur- 
suing gunner comes into his mind to ruffle his 
placid days. Often large flocks of the King 
Eiders are found in mid-ocean, hundreds of 
miles from any land, feeding upon the drifting 
seaweed which furnishes abundantly every- 
thing needful. 
Their maritime existence and the rarity of 
their visits ashore, together with their heavy 
bodies and short legs combine to make their gait 
nearly as graceful as that of their human rep- 
resentative, the ‘‘old salt.’’ In fact, it is a most 
clumsy ‘‘waddle’’ when compared with the easy 
