150 
EIDER DUCK. 
warmth, lightness, and elasticity, surpasses that of all other 
ducks. The quantity found in one nest more than filled the 
crown of a hat, yet weighed no more than three quarters of an 
ounce ;* and it is asserted that three pounds of this down may 
be compressed into a space scarce bigger than a man’s fist, yet 
is afterwards so dilatable as to fill a quilt five feet square, f 
The native regions of the eider duck extend from 45° N. 
to the highest latitudes yet discovered, both in Europe and 
America. Solitary rocky shores and islands are their favour- 
ite haunts. Some wandering pairs have been known to breed 
on the rocky islands beyond Portland, in the district of Maine, 
which is perhaps the most southern extent of their breeding 
place. In England, the Fern Isles, on the coast of Northum- 
berland, are annually visited by a few of these birds, being the 
only place in South Britain where they are known to breed. 
They occur again in some of the Western Isles of Scotland. 
Greenland and Iceland abound with them, and here, in parti- 
cular places, their nests are crowded so close together, that a 
person can scarcely walk without treading on them. The na- 
tives of these countries know the value of the down, and carry 
on a regular system of plunder both of it, and also of the eggs. 
have already seen a variable structure ; they are here of considerable breadth, ri- 
gid texture, and curve over the quills, as if curled with an iron. The feet are 
placed far back, and show great powers for diving. The males undergo a change 
of plumage, and leave the females as soon as they have commenced sitting, when 
they may be seen in large flocks by themselves ; they commence their migrations 
much sooner than the females. It is to this bird that we are principally indebt- 
ed for the valuable eider down, though many others of the northern aquatic fowl 
produce one equally fine, which is often mixed with it. Lemmius remarks, that 
the eiders are in immense profusion on the coasts of Norway and Lapland ; 
when hatching, the eggs are often the prey of the crows and of Larus niarinus, 
who drag the female from her nest and destroy them or the young. The male, 
however, if he perceives the assault, makes furious attacks, and sometimes suc- 
ceeds in beating them off. They are very familiar, building close to the houses 
of the fishermen ; the female will even allow herself to be lifted from the eggs 
and set down again ; and sometimes a countryman will carry the young in 
his hat from the nest to the sea, the duck running by his side, moaning gently 
with anxiety — Ed. 
* Pennant. f Salem. Ornith. p. 416. 
