AMKKICAN EIDEB. :){ 
west coasl to Dumb-bell Bay, Latitude 82 ; not abundant Qorth of 
about 78 latitude. There Lb a lack of definite knowledge- concerning 
the western limits of the range of this species. It is certain thai the 
eiders of Hudson Bay, west to longitude s 7 , belong to this form. It 
is also certain that the common eider on the Arctic coast of north- 
western North America is S. v-nigra, and that this form occurs east 
along the coast of the mainland to about the mouth of the Coppermine 
River, L15 Longitude. There seems to be no specimen of either 
form in any collection from the Arctic islands west of Baffin Bay. 
It is a fair presumption that the eiders of Wellington Channel and 
vicinity longitude ( ."» 95 . where the species is common north to 
77 latitude belong to the eastern form and thai those of Banks 
Land. Longitude 115°-r2."> . are 8. v-nigra, but the dividing line 
between the two forms remains to be determined. The typical form, 
Somateria mollissima, breeds in northwestern Europe and comes south 
in winter rarely to southern Europe. 
Winter range. In winter the northern eider ranees from southern 
Greenland and northern Hudson Bay south on the Atlantic coast to 
Massachusetts. 
Spring migration. — Just north of the winter range, at Cumberland 
Sound, latitude <>6°, the first appeared April 30, 1878; in Wellington 
Channel, latitude 76 J , May 17, 1851; at Cape Sabine, latitude 79°, 
May 28, L884; and at Thank God Harbor, latitude 81°, June 4, 1872. 
The latest stragglers on the coast of New England leave the first week 
in April. The first ^^^ on Cumberland Sound were found June 21, 
1878; the first at the south end of Greenland, June 24, 1886. 
Fall migration. — The earliest migrants arrive on the coast of Massa- 
chusetts the last of October; the last were seen at Dumb-bell Bay. Sep- 
tember 5, L875; at Thank God Harbor, November 4, 1872; and in 
Cumberland Sound, November 17, 1878. 
Somateria dresseri Sharpe. American Eider. 
Breeding range. — The American eider rarely breeds on the coast of 
Maine; formerly its breeding range extended to the western side of 
Penobscot Bay, but is now restricted to a few colonies in Jericho Bay 
and on Old Man Island; it breeds abundantly on the shores of the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence and is fairly common north to the mouth of Hamilton 
Inlet, latitude 54 ; it breeds commonly on the east shore of Hudson 
Bay, from latitude 54 to latitude 50°, and on the west shore in the 
vicinity of Fort Churchill. 
Winter range. -The American eider winters as far north as New- 
foundland; is common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the win- 
ter, and is not uncommon as far south as the Massachusetts coast; it 
is casual on the New Jersey coast, and is accidental near Marshall 
Hall, Md., and near Cobbs Island, Virginia (December 28, L900). In 
