m AUDUBON'S LABRADOR 



nessed, may walk among these birds while they 

 are sitting, and not scare them; he may even 

 take the eggs and yet they will renew their 

 laying as often as three times." " According 

 to the relation of Sir George Mackenzie, * on 

 the 8th of June at Vidoe, the Eider Ducks, 

 at all other times of the year perfectly wild, 

 had now assembled in great numbers to nestle. 

 The boat, by which they approached the shore, 

 passed through multitudes of these beautiful 

 fowls, which scarcely gave themselves the 

 trouble to go out of the way. Between the 

 landing place and the Governor's house, the 

 ground was strewn with them, and it required 

 some caution to avoid treading on the nests. 

 The Drakes were walking about uttering a 

 sound very like the cooing of Doves, and were 

 even more familiar than the common Domes- 

 tic Ducks. All round the house, on the garden 

 wall, on the roof, even in the inside of the house, 

 and in the chapel, were numbers of Ducks sit- 

 ting on their nests. Such as had not been long 

 on the nest generally left it on being approached ; 

 but those that had more than one or two eggs 

 sat perfectly quiet, suflfering us to touch them 



' Travels in Iceland, p. 126. (Quoted by Nuttall.) 

 306 



