^he Great Black and White Duck 
T his Bird is one of the largeft of the Buck Kind ; the Bill is reprefented of its natural 
Bignefs in the lower Part of the Print. I take it to be the Eider or [oft-feather'd Buck of 
TVormius, and the St. Cuthbert Buck of the Earn Hands, both colledfed by Willoughby, and in* 
fertcd in his Ornithology, P.362. 
The Male Bird, reprefented Handing, hath the Bill not fo much compreiTed as is common 
in Bucks, it is of a blackifh Colour, and indented on the Edges of both upper and lower Mandi¬ 
bles where they meet, except at the Point •, the Tip of the upper Mandible overhangs the lower 
a little; the Bafis of the Bill enters the Forehead on each Side with two remarkable fharp An¬ 
gles, and the Feathers oh each Side of the Head extend themfelves in acute Angles into the Bill 
juft beneath the Noftrils, as the Figures more fully exprefs: There paffes from the Forehead to 
the hind Part of the Head two broad Bars of Black, in which Spaces the Eyes are placed ; 
there is a white Space on the Top of the Head, dividing the black Marks, almoft to the Bill; 
the Remainder of the Head, all the Neck, Back, and lefler covert Feathers of the Wings, are 
White. On the.hind Part of the Neck, juft below the Ends of the black Marks, the Fea¬ 
thers are of a light Green-colour, foftened into the White, and appear more like an accidental 
Stain, than any natural Mark *, and I ftiould have taken it for fuch, had not different Subjedls 
confirmed it natural : All the Quills are Black or Dusky, except three or four of the innermoft 
next the Back, which are White; the firft Row of covert Feathers next above the Quills are al- 
fo Dufky; the inner Coverts of the Wings are White; the Tail is of a dirty Black-colour; 
the Belly, Sides under the Wings, and covert Feathers both above and beneath the Tail, are 
of a deep Black-colour; on the Breaft the Black and White do not break of fuddenly, but are 
intermixed a little into each otherThe Legs and Feet are of a very dirty Brown or Blackifh 
Colour, having four Toes Handing after the ufuaJ Manner, and webb’d^s in the common ; 
the two inner and the two hind Toes have lateral Fins or Webs, as is coranuon to this Genus ; 
the Claws are Black, 
The Female, reprefented by the diftant Flying Bird in this Plate, in Shape, Size, Colour 
of the Bill, and Feet, agrees exaftly with the Male; but the Plumage is quite different, it being 
all over of a Brown-colour, mixed with tranfverfe Lines of Black, except the Tail and greater 
Wing Feathers, which were of a Duflcy-colour. Thefe Birds hatch their Young on the Coaft 
of Nortvay in the Month of June ; this I difcovered by buying of a Fiftierman in Norway at the 
latter End of May, 1718, a Hen of this Kind, which I gave to a Perfon to prepare for roaft- 
ing, who brought me out of her an Egg fully formed, larger than a Buck Egg, and of a green¬ 
er Colour than is common in tame Buck's Eggs. 
Thefe Birds were brought preferved dry from Greenland, and are depofited at Sir Hans Shane's 
at Chelfea, I believe they are found on all the Coafts and Hands of the Northern Seas. I 
find this Bird mentioned in the Fliftory of the Hands of Farro tranflated from the Banijh Lan¬ 
guage; which TraiSl being fcarce, I fliall tranfcribe therefrom what relates to this Bird, that its 
Fliftory may be more full. “ The Eider Cock is Brown as the Hen when he is young, but 
“ when he is old he groweth almoft White, and is called Eider-Blink: From this Fowl is ga- 
“ thered Eider Down, which the Eider plucks off from its Breaft, and layeth in its Neft about 
“ the Eggs, when it hatcheth them, and when they are come our, and are fled away with 
“ their Dam, this Down is taken up from the Neft, being then full of Mofs and Straw, of 
“ which it is cleanfed, and dried. The Down which is plucked off at other Times from the 
“ Eider is good for nothing, for it is fat, and rotteth.” 
As I find much wanting in former Deferiptions of thefe Birds to make them perfeft, and no 
Figures to enlighten them, I hope this Labour will not be flighted by the Inquifitive and Cu¬ 
rious. I take it to be a Sea Buck, frequenting only Salt-Waters, The 
