King-Eider 39 
going south and east to the sheltered Aleutians and the chain of islands off the Kodiak 
Peninsula, where there is open water all the winter. 
Habits. — The habits of the King-Eider are said to differ very little from the Common 
Eider. As long as the sea is not frozen King-Eiders will remain in flocks near the summer 
breeding places the whole year round, but when driven south by exceptional severity, they 
migrate in large flocks and keep on the fringe of the most northerly open waters. This is 
especially the case with the immatures. They are essentially sea-loving ducks, and do not 
go near fresh water except in the breeding season. They do not seem to affect deep water 
off rocky coasts, but rather prefer the vicinity of low-lying green islands and tongues of land 
where the beaches shelve towards mussel banks. They are very gregarious, and will mix 
with the Common Eiders both in winter and in summer, but at the nesting places the male 
King-Eider is said to be more restless and quarrelsome than the Eider. F. Boie [Journeys 
in Norway, p. 99) mentions the case of a pair of King-Eiders that intruded themselves into 
a large colony of Eiders, when it was found necessary to shoot the male owing to its 
quarrelsome nature. They are exceedingly tame at the breeding place, but are said to be 
much shyer than the Common Eider in their winter ranges. 
The flight seems to be similar to that of the Eider, but they have little fear of cutting 
across corners of land, and will often fly from one part of the sea to another across promon- 
tories. Mr. A. L. V. Manniche, who discovered a large colony of these birds in N.E. Green- 
land, confirms this, as well as their constant restlessness at the breeding time, and the fact 
that they often visit pools and small pieces of fresh water, and even nest close to them. 
Mr. Manniche found numbers of King-Eiders at Stormkap, Snenaes, and a part of 
Hvalrosodden, N.E. Greenland, in 1906 and 1907. They arrived early in June, and departed 
south last year on September 8. His notes, which he has kindly given to me, are of 
especial interest as relating to the habits and voice of this species : 
"The King- Eider," he says {Terrestrial Mamm. and Birds of N.E. Greenland, pp. 103-4), 
"appeared the next summer (1907) on Stormkap, June 10. The same day a few couples were seen in 
the lakes at the ship's harbour. 
" All the King-Eiders appeared in couples, though they no more than other summers nested that 
summer. Though they often gathered in small flocks, there were always just as many females as males. 
The King-Eiders appeared in even the smallest ponds of melted snow, and their surprising fearlessness 
made it possible for me to observe them at quite short distance. 
" During their excursions in the field, they always flew very low, and sometimes uttered a slight 
growling or grunting sound. 
" The King-Eider, which at this season always stayed in the fresh waters on the mainland, on which 
it undoubtedly exclusively nests, hereby forms a contrast to S. mollissima, which almost always takes 
to the cracks or openings in the sea-ice. I never saw the King-Eiders on islands or near these. 
"The males disappeared at the end of June, after which the females gathered in small flocks. 
" Every day they used to fly from the lakes and ponds inland down to the bay, and especially to the 
mouth of Stormelven, in which they would lie and dive for food. They used to lie for hours on the 
grass-clad beaches of the lake in order to rest or to sleep with their heads hidden under their wings. 
" At the end of July the last females left the lakes at Stormkap. 
"The King-Eider arrived in the summer 1908 on June 16, a few days later than the preceding 
summer. 
" I counted some 20 pairs of nesting birds, which exactly corresponded to what I observed on the 
same territory in 1907. In the beginning of July the majority of the females were occupied in breeding 
and the males disappeared. A few barren females could be seen till the last days of July 
