EIDER DUCKS 
105 
as food; but the numbers have been so rapidly reduced by reckless killing 
and egging that only a small fraction of the original number remains. On 
these bleak and desolate coasts where fresh meat is scarce the Eiders should 
be conserved for food if for nothing else. An intelligent and far-seeing 
policy would conserve the Eiders for all time to come, supply a liberal 
amount of flesh food and eggs, and at the same time produce a crop of 
down worth in the markets far more than the carcasses of the dead birds. 
161, Pacific Eider, le moyac du pacific* oe. Somateria v-nigra. L, 24. A large 
eider. Like the American Eider but with a sharp, black V on throat. White above, black 
below, the latter cutting squarely and sharply against a white breast delicately tinted 
with vinaceous. Neck, throat, and cheeks, pure white; jet black cap extending to below 
eyes, split over the hind head by a wedge of white, nape washed with delicate nile-green 
that fades gradually away into cheeks and under eyes (Figure 156). Female: light brown, 
crossbarred on breast, flanks, and much of back with dark cream, and light rusty ochre 
crown and face finely streaked with dark. 
Distinctions. The male likely to be confused only with the American Eider. To be 
distinguished from it by a black V with apex on throat under the gape and arms extending 
under cheeks (Compare with Figure 155). The eastern Eider, however, is not known to 
occur west of Hudson Bay. The female resembles the female King Eider, but may always 
be distinguished from it by the feathering of the sides of the bill extending as far as the 
nostrils (Compare with Figure 157). From the eastern American Eider, the species can 
be told by the shape of the long bill processes. In the Pacific Eider these long, fleshy ex- 
trusions average thinner, narrower, and sharp- 
er and extend along the top of the forehead 
instead of slightly along the sides of the face. 
Field Marks. White back, and head, 
with black cap, probably make the best field 
marks. 
Nesting. On the ground of the tundra. 
Distribution. The western Arctic coast 
and islands from Coronation Gulf to shores of 
Bering Sea. Occasional on lower Mackenzie 
and Great Slave Lake. One record reported 
from Washington coast. To be expected on 
inland waters or on our west coast only as 
a straggler. 
The largest of the western Eiders and to be looked for as an occasional 
winter visitor on the outer British Columbia coast. 
162. King Eider, le moyac remarquable (Ie Warnecootai). Somateria spedabilis. 
L, 23. A large Eider. Adult male: black below and mostly black on body above. Fore- 
parts all white to head, the white falling like a cape over 
shoulders, narrowing to a point between the wings where 
it is sharply demarcated, and cutting sharply straight across 
lower breast, where it is tinged with warm vinaceous, against 
the black underparts. 1\ ing-coverts, and a conspicuous 
spot on either side at the base of the tail, white. The head 
is very distinctive. The base of the bill on either side rises 
in high, broad, fleshy processes, coloured orange-yellow in 
life, and bordered by a narrow line of black velvety feathers. 
The cheeks are flushed with delicate nile-green and the 
crown and nape are chalky blue. The throat is marked with 
a black V, the apex being under the bill and the arms extend- 
ing under the line of the cheek feathers (Figure 157). The 
female is similar to the female of the Pacific Eider, light 
brown, more or less finely streaked on head and neck and 
coarsely V-marked with dark and light on breast, back, and flanks. 
Distinctions. The adult male in breeding plumage is unmistakable with his great 
yellow bill processes and general coloration. The juvenile and the female are so like 
parallel plumages of the Common and Pacific Eiders that the bill feathering is probably 
the only reliable distinction. In the King Eider the featheration on the sides of the bill 
does not extend nearly as far as the nostrils (Compare Figure 157 with 155 and 156). 
Figure 157 
King Eider; scale, \. 
Female Male 
Figure 15G 
Pacific Eider; scale, J. 
Female Male 
