92 



NE8T8 AND EGGS OF 



other parts of Europe to protect it during the breeding seasqn. In these places the 

 Eider becomes very tame. It is a resident of Greenland, where it nests in the latter 

 part of June or the first week of July. On some of the small islands on the coast of 

 Iceland it has become almost domesticated, breeding in vast numbers, nesting on 

 the grassy banks, between large stones, on rocks, and in every available hollow 

 which will hold the nest. The nest is made of sea weed, lined with the down plucked 

 from the breast of the bird. This is augmented as incubation proceeds and th'e 

 quantity of down often becomes so great that the eggs are concealed from view. 

 The eggs i-ange from six to ten in number, greenish drab, and measure 2.97 by 2.01. 



■ a'/^rf^ 



^jfijf^'^mlm 



180. EiOER Ducks (From Brehm). 



160. AMERICAIT EIDER. Somateria dresseri Sharpe. Geog. Dist.— Atlantic 

 coast of North America, from Maine to Labrador; south in winter to the Delaware 

 and west to the Great Lakes. 



