352 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Northern Hemisphere, breeding in Ice- 

 land and Greenland (according to Sabanaeff in the Ural and govern- 

 ment of Yaroslav), also in north-eastern N. America. In winter 

 south to Lake Baikal and middle United States of America. Casual 

 in Scandinavia, north Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Tyrol, Italy. 

 Replaced by very closely allied subspecies in north-east Siberia to 

 Pribilof and Aleutian Isles and western N. America, wintering to 

 Japan and in America to California. 



Genus POLYSTICTA Eyt. 

 Polysticta Eyton, Cat. Brit. B., p. 58 (1836 — Monotype P. stelleri).* 



In style of coloration more like Somateria. but bill entirely 

 different. Nail as in Histrionicus, also ill-defined, but bill longer 

 than in latter, at least as long as tarsus, almost of equal width, not 

 tapering. Cutting edge of upper mandible not straight and distal 

 half with soft-skinned edge, in dried skins generally folded inwards. 

 Tail also 14 rectrices. In male feathers of head shorter and some- 

 what scale-like, on nape a brush-like sort of crest. Inner second- 

 aries in male greatly modified. Sexes very different. One species, 

 arctic regions of Northern Hemisphere. 



POLYSTICTA STELLERI 



319. Polysticta stelleri (Pall.)— STELLER'S EIDER. 



Anas Stelleri Pallas, Spicilegia Z00L, fasc. vi, p. 35, pi. 5 (1769 — Kamt- 



schatka). 



Somateria stelleri (Pallas), Yarrell, rv, p. 468 : Saunders, p. 463. 



Description. — Adult male. Winter and summer. — Head and upper- 

 neck silky-white ; across hinder-crown patch of light emerald- 

 green with small black patch glossed violet -purple on either side ; 

 lores and fore -head more or less suffused pale emerald-green ; irre- 

 gular black patch round eye ; chin, throat, collar encircling lower- 

 neck, centre of upper -mantle, rest of mantle, back, rump and upper 

 tail- coverts black more or less glossed violet -purple or blue -black, 

 chin and throat in some duller ; sides of upper -mantle white, some 

 feathers bordering centre of mantle vermiculated blackish or with 

 inner webs more or less black ; short upper scapulars mostly white, 

 some with inner webs more or less black, some with violet-purple 

 shaft -streaks, long tapering ones with broad outer web violet- 

 purple, in some lights sapphire -blue, narrow inner web white, lower 

 scapulars sepia or ash-brown more or less glossed violet-purple 

 with irregular white shaft -streaks, and narrowly edged white, some 

 with one web more or less white ; below black collar, fore -neck en- 

 circled by narrow white collar continuous with sides of upper - 

 mantle ; upper-breast cinnamon-buff deepening to orange -cinnamon 



* Frequently Polysticta has been rejected on account of the prior Polisticte 

 1836, but American authors accept it, though they reject Bucephala because 

 of the older name Bucephalus ! 



