234 
NATURAL HISTORY 
thi forehead and cheeks advance far into the base. In 
the male, the feathers of part of the head, the lower part 
of the^breast, the belly, and the tail, are black, as are 
also tlfe quill feathers of the wings; and nearly all the 
tfest of*the body is white. The legs are green. The 
female is of a reddish brown, variously marked with 
bfeck and dusky streaks. It is principally found in the 
western isles of Scotland, on the coasts of Norway, Ice- 
land, and Greenland, and in many parts of North Ame- 
rica, particularly in the Esquimaux islands. 
In Iceland the eider ducks generally build their nests 
on small islands not far from the shore: and sometimes 
even near the dwellings of the natives, who treat them 
with so much attention and kindness as to render them 
nearly tame. Sometimes two females will lay their eggs 
in the same nest, in which case they always agree re- 
markably well. The female lays from three to five eggs 
(sometimes so many as eight) which are large, smooth, 
glossy, and of a pale olive colour. They generally lay 
among stones, or plants, near the sea, but in a soft bed 
of down, which they pluck from their own breasts. 
As long as the female is sitting, the male continues on 
watch near the shore; but as soon as the young are 
hatched, he leaves them. The mother, however, re- 
mains with them a considerable time afterwards. It is 
curious to observe her manner of leading them out of 
the nest, almost as soon as they creep from the eggs. 
Going before them to the shore, they trip after her: and, 
when she comes to the water side, she takes them on her 
back, and swims a few yards with them, when she dives; 
and the young ones are left floating on the surface, 
obliged to take care of themselves. They are seldom 
afterwards seen on land. 
From these birds is produced the soft down so well 
known by the name of eider, or edder-down, with which 
they line the inside of their nests, which render them 
particularly warm. When the natives come to the nest, 
they carefully remove the female and take away the su- 
perfluous down and eggs; after this, they replace the fe- 
male: she then begins to lay afresh, and cavers her eggs 
