168 
COMMON EIDER. 
have been by different authors applied to it. Enico- 
netta. Gray; polysticta, Eyton ; Macropus, Nuttal; 
and Stelleria, Bonaparte. 
Somateria, Leach. — Generic characters. — Bill 
narrow, swollen at the base and running high 
into the plumage of the head, being divided on 
the forehead by an acute angle of feathers, nail 
large and strong, hooked, lamella' dentate, con- 
cealed ; nostrils lateral, oval ; wings of mean 
length, accuminated, first quill slightly longest, 
tcrtials long, curved ; legs placed behind, short, 
feet ample, hallux broadly lobed. 
Types. — rnollissima, spectaUlis, & c. 
Note. — Habits maritime ; long in attaining adult 
plumage ; females separate from males after 
incubation. Europe, America. 
THE COMMON EIDER. 
Somateria rnollissima. 
PLATE VII. 
Anas rnollissima, Linn . — Somateria rnollissima, Leach., Flem., 
&c. The Eider, or St. Cuthbert’s Duck of British au- 
thors. 
This gaily-plumaged, but rather clumsily-formed 
duck, is a good example of the genus. It is com- 
pletely maritime in habits, frequenting the sea-coasts 
