Legs short; feet of four toes, broadly webbed, hind toe with a deeply lobatedr
-membrane. Wings -only of moderate length, with the first quill-feather equal-
in length to the second«
T h e distinguishing characters, both external and internal,
of the first division of true Ducks, willes found at page 148
of the present; volume ; .those of the sqqond division of these
birds which now remain to be described are decidedly-different,
and may be thus stated: —Externally thèy exhibit the
neck and wings short, the latter only reaching to the origin
of the tail-feathers; the legs short and compressed ; the hind
toe Iobated, with an extended web to the inner toe. They
frequent the sea, or the deep parts of the largest fresh-water
lakes, and have-been called Oceanic Du cks : seldom seen on
lan d ; their walk'embarrassed from the backward position of
the legs, but they dive constantly and with great facility,
taking their prey at various depths below the surface ; their
food fish, shelled mollusca, Crustacea, and marine insects,'but
little or no vegetable production; their- powers of ‘flight moderate.
Of their soft parts, the oesophagus is capable of great
dilatation; the stomach is a. muscular gizzard, but the in-
temal cavity is large, and the sides comparatively thin. The
ribs are elongated; and the-keel of the breast-bone decreases
in depth in those species which in their habits most resemble
the Mergansers-
The Eider Duck, though indigenous to some of the northern
parts of England, as well as several of the Scottish Islands,
is only a winter visiter to the southern portions of the
kingdom, and that too in very limited numbers.. I t is but
rarely killed in Ireland, and has Jbeen seen on the Cornish,
Devonshire, Dorsetshire, and Hampshire coasts. A fine
adult bird was obtained in the London market in January
last. On the other side the Channel, M. Baillon, of Abbeville,
procured a female which was killed in Picardy, during
the middle of summer; and Pollidore Roux included the
Eider Duck among the birds found in Provence.-
The most southern locality in this country at which this
spécies isknown toe- breed regularly^is_ that which was visited
by Pennant in July 1769, and has been frequently visited
by Mr. Selby, namely, the Fern Islands, situated upon thé
northern coast of Northumberland. Here, the latter gentleman
Observes, “ these birds, if protected,' would soon become
very numerous, and might be made a Source of productive
wealth, ‘as they afford, in great abundance, that fine and
elastic down known by their name* and which, as an article
of ]u%®-y,- produces an exorbitant' price. This consideration^
however, has hitherto been lost sight of, and the eggs of the
Eider have1 been taken indiscriminately with those of the
Gull, Guillemot, &c. and sold for a mere trifle to the inhabitants
of* the main land. In consequence, the. young annually
produced? -have been few, and those only of the later
or second hatchings. The last season, however, proved moré
fortunate to all the feathered inhabitants of the islands, as
they were' protected from extensive depredation by the gentleman
emj||yed as architect td erect a light-house upon one
of the outer rocks. A very numerous brood of all the species,
but particularly of the Eiders, was the consequence of
this care. About April these birds are seen assembling in
groups along the shorës of the main land, from whence they
cross over to the .islands early in May. As soon as the
females begin to lay, which is usually about the' 20th, the
drakes leave them, and again, spread themselves along the
adjoining coast. The usual number of eggs is five, of a pale
asparagus green, and rather large, measuring three inches in
length, -by two inches and one line in breadth. The nest is
composed óf fine seaweed,' and as incubation proceeds, a
lining of down, plucked by the bird from her own body, is