EIDER DUCK (PLATE CCXLVI)

Common Eider, "Somateria mollissima" JW 36 fine, fresh impression, a fox mark in the sky sheet 25 5/8 by 38 in.; 650 by 965 mm. Based on a composition perhaps painted near Eastport, Maine, 1833. "The history of this remarkable duck must ever be looked upon with great interest by the student of nature. The depressed form of its body, the singular shape of its bill, the beautiful colouring of its plumage, the value of its down as an article of commerce, and the nature of its haunts, render it a very remarkable species." See color illustration on Plate XVI.