The King Eider at Buffalo, N. Y. ■ — Although the King Eider 
( Somaleria spectabilis ) has been recorded as occurring at Lake Erie 
(“ Wheaton , Ohio Agric. Rep. 1860,” — fide Coues, Bds. Northwest, 
p. 581), and as a “ rare winter visitant” to Lake Michigan ( Nelson , Bull. 
Essex Inst., VIII, p. 143), its presence near Buffalo, N. Y., in such num- 
bers as the following communication indicates, seems worthy of record. 
Mr. Charles Linden, of that city, in a letter dated Nov. 26, 1879, writes: 
“ I send you a fresh-shot specimen of what appears to be Somaleria spec- 
tabilis, young Several flocks of them have, for the first time, made 
their appearance in the Niagara ; they are very tame, allow approach to 
within a few yards, dive readily, and appear again a long distance from 
where they dove. They are evidently not used to the lurking dangers of 
the gun, and have probably found their way up the St. Lawrence, up Lake 
Ontario, and across to Lake Erie. There have been to my knowledge at 
least eighteen of them shot. They are generally found in small flocks of 
three or four birds.” The specimen sent arrived in good condition, and 
Mr. Linden has my thanks for the kind attention. — J. A. Allen, 
Cambridge, Mass. 
Bull, N.O.O. 5, Jan., 1880, p. (, 1~G3 . 
Bird Notes from Long Island, N. 
William Butcher. 
Y. 
- " ?/- - ✓ 
r- V , x,. 
8. Somateria spectabilis. King Eider. — Mr. Giraud says of this 
species: “This remarkable Duck is seldom seen within the limits of the 
United States, although I had the good fortune to add to my collection an 
adult male in perfect plumage, that was shot on Long Island Sound, in 
the winter of 1839. During winter— at Egg Harbor (New Jersey) as well 
as on the shores of Long Island — the young are occasionally observed. 
But the adult specimen now in my possession, and one other, are the only 
individuals in full and mature plumage, that I have ever known to be pro- 
cured in the vicinity of New York.” f Early in December, 1886, Mr. A. 
II. Helme visited Capt. J. G. Scott, keeper of the lighthouse at Montauk 
Point, and while there had the good fortune to procure an adult female of 
this species. His account of the capture is as follows : “Itwas alone when 
shot and was feeding in the shallow water among the rocks in a sheltered 
cove. It was at first mistaken for a Dusky Duck, whose mate had been 
shot at this spot the preceding day. It was shot at and twice driven from 
its feeding ground only to return the third time to offer itself, apparently, 
a voluntary contribution to the cause. It had previously been wounded, 
the right tibia having been broken near the tibio-tarsal articulation. As 
the bones had not united the bird evidently found it difficult to feed in the 
deeper water. This will, I think, account for its attachment to the spot 
where it was shot. Capt. Scott reports seeing, while off the Point duck- 
ing, several Ducks which he calls ‘Isle of Shoal Ducks.’ They may be 
female Eiders or Scoters.” January 22, 1887, Capt. Scott sent to me one 
of the Isle of Shoal Ducks, which proved to be a female King Eider. He 
reported them, “living off the Point since early in November (nth), when 
I saw a flock of four; the next day I saw ten at one time. They appear 
less shy than the other wild fowl, and will permit a nearer approach in a 
boat. In this locality it is seen occasionally in the winter months, on the 
ocean, from one-quarter to one-half mile from shore. It is not a common 
Duck, and I believe it is only a few years since they have been seen off 
Montauk Point, but this winter they have been more than usually com- 
mon. There is a shoal, with a depth of water from fifteen to twenty feet, 
about one-quarter of a mile off the Point, where I go to shoot Ducks, but 
can only do so when the surf will permit. Every time I have visited this 
spot this winter, I have seen from four to twenty King Eiders.” March 
19, 1887, Capt. Scott sent to me a young male which he shot from a flock 
of twenty. April 8, he wrote, “I was out to-day and saw about thirty 
King Eiders, as many as I have seen any day this winter. I think about one- 
third of the birds were males.” Late in the winter I wrote to Capt. Frank 
Stratton, keeper of the Ditch Plain Life Saving Station, asking whether 
this species was a regular winter visitant near Montauk, and he replied as 
follows : “The KingEider Ducks are quite rare here ; I think I have known 
only about ten killed in as many years. I shot three, the first of Novem- 
ber, I think in 1880. We see a few every winter, between November 1 
and May 1, usually singly or in pairs, hardly ever in flocks. They feed 
on mussels or small shell-fish which they pick up from the bottom of the 
ocean. They never come into the ponds or bays; at least I have never 
seen one except on the ocean. They are very fair eating, nearly as good 
as a Black Duck.” April 21, 1887, Capt. Stratton sent to me a male and 
female which had been shot off his station by one of the Life Saving Crew. 
“They were about one-quarter of a mile off shore, where the water was 
from three to four fathoms deep.” They were both gorged with the young 
of the common edible mussel ( Mytilus edulis Linn.), which Capt. Strat- 
ton says grow in large quantities in the ocean around Montauk, wherever 
there is a rocky bottom. The two specimens above referred to were the 
last ones seen. 
St 
Auk, V, April, 1888. p. 17*- /74T 
