PAM. L. t)VCKS, GEESB, AND SWANS 



293 



the male in certain stages) is rusty-brown to buffy, mottled 

 and barred with black, the mottling including the head 

 and throat. Both of 

 these eiders have prac- 

 tically the same habits ; 

 they are true sea ducks, 

 spending most of their 

 time some distance from 

 shore, diving for mus- 

 sels, which form their 

 principal food. 



Length, 24 ; wing, 11 ; 

 tail, 4 ; tarsus, If ; culmen, 

 1|. Atlantic coast of North 

 Aiherica ; breeding from 

 Maine to Labrador, and 

 wintering south to New Jer- 

 sey and west to the Great 



Lakes. 



American Eider 



23. King Eider (162. 

 Somat^ria spectdbilis). — A large, distinctly blotched, black- 

 bodied duck, with mainly white head, neck, and breast. The 

 crown is bluish-gray, cheeks somewhat green, and breast buff. 



There is a black band 

 at base of upper man- 

 dible and a V-shaped 

 mark under the 

 throat ; white wing 

 coverts and side of 

 rump. The female is 

 rusty-brown, mottled 

 and barred with dark- 

 er, but with head and 

 throat almost un- 

 ^S^^^^ streaked. The king 



eider can be best distinguished by the feathering at the side of 

 the bill, which does not reach forward to the nostril. 



