842 
BIBD-LIFE. 
tlie back and ventlet, forehead, a stripe through the eye, 
beak and feet, are black; the neck, back, a bar across the 
wings, and a spot on the side of the lower portion of the 
body, are white; the cheeks are tinted with a tender 
shade of green, that can only be compared to the 
colour of the ice; the upper portion of the breast is 
reddish. 
The Eider Duck is distinguishable from other Ducks 
by its superior size, its length being twenty-six inches, 
and its breadth forty-five. Its shape is rather heavy : to 
a broad, flat body are attached a pair of short legs and 
feet, which are placed very far back; the neck, short and 
strongly made, is surmounted by a somewhat large and 
extraordinary long head, which is remarkable for the 
unusually long, low, narrow forehead. 
The movements of the Eider Duck ashore are in strict 
accordance with its clumsy build; this, however, is not a 
matter for astonishment, for it is exclusively an aquatic 
creature: when walking quickly it stumbles and falls 
continually, and its flight seems heavy and laboured; 
but as a swimmer and diver the Eider Duck shows itself 
highly accomplished. It will swim and dive in the 
roughest surf, using its wings as fish use their fins. 
The sea is its real home, and is rarely abandoned, except 
from necessity or when breeding. Far out at sea away 
from the coast, except when nesting, one may often 
recognize the snowy white male, whose brilliant plumage 
renders him visible at a long distance off, and hear 
the low “ ahu, ahua,” which greets the visitor’s near 
approach, and which also serves to call these birds 
together; for let it be observed that Eider Ducks 
are very sociable, and always to be found in flocks; 
besides which they will attach themselves to flights of 
