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BIRDS OF N O R T H E R N CANADA 315
of Liverpool Bay, were found on sandy islets in the bays
of Franklin and Liverpool. Over one thousand eggs of the
Pacific eider, I believe first made known to science by our
exertions, were shipped to Washington. The male bird is
very wild and difficult of approach, especially after being
once fired at. Female birds always appeared to us to be
largely in excess of males in Franklin Bay. On one occasion
there we discovered a nest from observing a white owl
engaged in eating the eggs— four of which, however, had not
been touched.
There is not a single skin or egg of the 8. V- nigra in the
National Museum at Ottawa!!
162. Kiire EIDER.— Somateria spectabilis ( Linn.).
This and the preceding S. V- nigra are the only two of
the several species of American eiders entered in the aforesaid
American Ornithologists' Union Check List personally
observed during a residence of nearly fifty- six years in the
former licensed and chartered territories of the Hudson's
Bay Company, and now known as the Provinces of Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and their respective hinterland.
We have never met with specimens of Somateria
mollisima, S. borealis or 8. dresseri, and do not think that
they breed on the polar shores of the Anderson or Mackenzie.
As to the king eider, however, we found it tolerably abundant
i n Franklin Bay, where two hundred of its eggs were
secured during the breeding seasons of 1862 to 1865, inclusive.
The Eskimos of Liverpool Bay also contributed the
contents of about twenty nests. These are similar to those
of the Pacific eider, and when not interfered with the
female bird usually lays from four to five eggs. They are
generally of a light shade of olive gray, and some are of a
grayish green in colour. The contents of nearly all those
of both species were quite fresh, and when mixed with some
flour they made excellent pancakes for our party finders. A
few birds occasionally breed in close proximity to S. Y^ nigra,
Object Description
Description
| Title | Page 338 |
| OCR | BIRDS OF N O R T H E R N CANADA 315 of Liverpool Bay, were found on sandy islets in the bays of Franklin and Liverpool. Over one thousand eggs of the Pacific eider, I believe first made known to science by our exertions, were shipped to Washington. The male bird is very wild and difficult of approach, especially after being once fired at. Female birds always appeared to us to be largely in excess of males in Franklin Bay. On one occasion there we discovered a nest from observing a white owl engaged in eating the eggs— four of which, however, had not been touched. There is not a single skin or egg of the 8. V- nigra in the National Museum at Ottawa!! 162. Kiire EIDER.— Somateria spectabilis ( Linn.). This and the preceding S. V- nigra are the only two of the several species of American eiders entered in the aforesaid American Ornithologists' Union Check List personally observed during a residence of nearly fifty- six years in the former licensed and chartered territories of the Hudson's Bay Company, and now known as the Provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and their respective hinterland. We have never met with specimens of Somateria mollisima, S. borealis or 8. dresseri, and do not think that they breed on the polar shores of the Anderson or Mackenzie. As to the king eider, however, we found it tolerably abundant i n Franklin Bay, where two hundred of its eggs were secured during the breeding seasons of 1862 to 1865, inclusive. The Eskimos of Liverpool Bay also contributed the contents of about twenty nests. These are similar to those of the Pacific eider, and when not interfered with the female bird usually lays from four to five eggs. They are generally of a light shade of olive gray, and some are of a grayish green in colour. The contents of nearly all those of both species were quite fresh, and when mixed with some flour they made excellent pancakes for our party finders. A few birds occasionally breed in close proximity to S. Y^ nigra, |
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