NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 91 



■with down. In some places the Harlequins are called "I^ord and Lady Ducks." The 

 male is second only to the Wood Duck in beauty, and the female will bear no com- 

 parison to the same sex of that species. The eggs are six to eight in number, rounded 

 oval, yellowish-bufE or greenish-yellow, and measure 2.30x1.62. 



156. LABBASOR DUCK. Gamptolaimus labradorius Gmel. Geog. Di'st. — 

 Formerly Northern Atlantic coast, from New Jersey (in winter) northward, breeding 

 from Labrador northward. Now extinct. 



The nest and eggs of this bird are unknown and thei bird Is extinct. The last 

 example taken was shot near Elmira, New York, in 1878. There are only thirty-six 

 specimens known to be preserved in the museums of the world. The specimen rep- 

 resented in our illustration is one which was collected by no less a person than Daniel 

 Webster, and is figured by Audubon.* This duck was shy and difficult of approach, 

 a strong swimmer and of rapid flight. Its extinction seems strange and unac- 

 countable. 



157. STELLER'S DUCK. Eniconetta Stelleri (Pall.) Geog. Dist.— Arctic and 

 sub-Arctic coasts of Northern Hemisphere. 



The summer home of Steller's Duck is in very high Arctic latitudes. It breeds 

 in Northern Russia, in Europe and in Siberia, nesting in the latter part of June, de- 

 positing from seven to nine eggs. It is said to breed on the inaccessible rocks of 

 Kamtschatka, on the islands of Bering Sea, and sparingly on some of the Aleutian 

 Islands. In its habits it resembles the Common Eider. The nest is placed on the 

 ground and is made of grass, thickly lined with down and feathers from the breast 

 of the bird. Dr. Coues says the bird is not yet common in collections, though abound- 

 ing and sometimes gathering in enormous flocks on the islands and both shores of 

 Bering Sea and the Arctic coast of Northeastern Siberia. It winters mainly on the 

 Aleutian Islands, and is usually found in company with the Pacific, Spectacled and 

 King Eiders. The eggs vary from pale olive-bufC to pale olive or pale green and 

 measure 2.30 by 1.62. 



158. SPECTACLED EIDER. Arctonetta fischeri (Brandt.) Geog. Dist. — 

 Coast of Alaska, north to Point Barrow. 



This Eider with a peculiarly dense and puffy 

 patch of velvet feathers about the eye, suggesting 

 spectacles, has nesting habits similar to the Ameri- 

 can Eider, S. dresseri. The eggs are also similar. 

 It inhabits the islands and coasts from Norton 

 Sound northward to Point Barrow. On St. Michael's 

 Island, Alaska, it breeds in company with the Pa- 

 cific Eider S. v-niffra. The eggs measure from 



" ..,„_, , 168. Spectacled Eider. 



2.35 to 2.57 long by 1.55 to 1.85 broad. 



159. NORTHERN EIDER. Somateria molUssima iorealis (A. B. Brehm.) 

 Geog. Dist. — Northern Europe and Northeastern North America, including Green- 

 land and Northern Labrador, south in winter on the Atlantic Coast to Maine. 



The Eider, so famous for its down, which has become an article of commerce 

 and luxury, is common along the Northern Atlantic coasts of Europe and America. 

 The great demand for its down has caused the inhabitants of Iceland, Norway and 



• From U. S. National Museum Report, 1889. 



