wiftly running streams, placing their nest, which
is woven of weeds and grasses, in the ground near the water. It is also
claimed that they sometimes nest in hollow trees. They lay from five to
eight eggs, yellowish or greenish buff in color. Size 2.30 x 1.60.
Data.--Peel River, Alaska, June 13, 1898. Seven eggs in a hollow in
river bank, lined with down. Collector, C. E. Whittaker.

156. LABRADOR DUCK. _Camptorhynchus labradorius._

This bird, whose range was from Labrador to New Jersey in the winter,
has probably been extinct since 1875, when the last authentic capture
was made. It is a strange fact that a bird of this character should have
been completely exterminated, even though they were often sold in the
markets. Only forty-one specimens are known to be preserved at present
and nothing is known in regard to their nesting habits or eggs.

[Illustration 103: Greenish buff.]
[Illustration: Harlequin Duck. Labrador Duck.]
[Illustration: right hand margin.]

Page 102

157. STELLER'S DUCK. _Polysticta stelleri._

Range.--Arctic regions in America, chiefly on the Aleutian Islands and
northwest coast of Alaska.

A very beautiful species eighteen inches long; head white, washed with
greenish on the forehead and nape; chin, throat, neck, back, tail and
crissum, black; underparts chestnut; wing coverts white, the long
scapulars black and white. It breeds on the rocky coasts and islands of
Bering Sea. The six to nine eggs are pale olive green in color. Size
2.25 x 1.60. Data.--Admiralty Bay, Alaska, June 22, 1898. Nest on a
hummock of the tundra, near a small pool, lined with grass and down.
Collector, E. A. McIlhenny.

158. SPECTACLED EIDER. _Arctonetta fischeri._

Range.--Coast of Alaska from the Aleutians to Point Barrow.

Like the rest of the true Eiders, this species is black beneath and
mostly white above. The head is largely washed with sea green, leaving a
large patch of white, narrowly bordered by black around each eye, thus
resembling a pair of spectacles. The nests are made of grass and seaweed
and lined with down; they are placed on the ground in clumps of grass or
beneath overhanging stones. The five to nine eggs are an olive drab or
greenish color. Size 2.70 x 1.85. Data.--Point Barrow, Alaska, June 15,
1898. Six eggs. Nest of moss and down in a hollow in dry tundra.
Collector, E. A. McIlhenny.

159. NORTHERN EIDER. _Somateria mollissima borealis._

Range.--North Atlantic coast, breeding fr