CONSEEVATION OF THE EIDER 



years, it had risen to nearly a hundred pounds 

 annually. Most of the eggs were taken and 

 pickled for winter consumption, one or two 

 only being left in each nest to hatch." 



BurtoA, writing in 1875,1 says that not even 

 a salute was permitted to be fired at Reykja- 

 vik for fear of frightening the eider, which was 

 there a "barn-door bird" and as "tame as 

 horse-pond geese." He sa,ys "the turf is shaven 

 and hollowed to make the nests — and the 

 places are marked by pegs." 



Slater ^ says of the common eider that it is 

 "resident in large numbers; especially abun- 

 dant round the coast, strictly preserved by 

 law, and in consequence very tame. In Aku- 

 reyri, for instance, the old ducks with their 

 ducklings feed along the edge of the fjord 

 quite close to the houses and road, and take 

 no more notice of the passers-by than domes- 

 tic ducks would do — which is very pretty. 

 In winter they pack in immense flocks. The 

 ,eider-down is, of course, the property of the 

 owner of the land, and every inducement and 

 protection is given to the birds, as the down 



1 Ultima Thule, or A Summer in Iceland. 

 ' Manual oj the Birds of Iceland. (1901.) 



309 



