Animal life in the sea and on the land . ey never seem to grow weary, neither dothey seem to rest. 12. The Albatross.—The largest of the swimmers is thealbatross, a powerful bird with white body and blackwings. It also seems to delight in a fierce gale, andskims over the surface of the ocean without touching is, nevertheless, an expert swimmer when it deigns tolight upon the water. An albatross has been known tofollow the course of a ship in mid-ocean for many weeks. 13. The Eider-duck.—The eider-duck, too, is a real sea-bird, but it does not fly well, and its habits are peculiarin many
Animal life in the sea and on the land . ey never seem to grow weary, neither dothey seem to rest. 12. The Albatross.—The largest of the swimmers is thealbatross, a powerful bird with white body and blackwings. It also seems to delight in a fierce gale, andskims over the surface of the ocean without touching is, nevertheless, an expert swimmer when it deigns tolight upon the water. An albatross has been known tofollow the course of a ship in mid-ocean for many weeks. 13. The Eider-duck.—The eider-duck, too, is a real sea-bird, but it does not fly well, and its habits are peculiarin many ways. Eider-ducks spend the winter in largeflocks on the Arc-tic seas, but when spring comes they select their mates, , /- *=-. J and the happy pairsswim off by them-selves to the female makesa large, loose nestof dry grass andstraw, and lines itwith a thick layerof down which shehas plucked fromher own breast. In this warm nest she lays from six to ten pale-green eggs,and a supply of loose down is generally placed near by. -S Ficr. 177.—The Eir>FR-r>rck\ 268 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE SEA AND ON THE LAND. to cover the eggs with when the hen is off in searchof food. 14. The way Eider-down is Obtained.—Eider-down, asyou may know, is very valuable on account of its light-ness and softness. The eggs are also valuable, and bringa good price when offered for sale; so it often happensthat the natives of these cold countries are on the watchfor the nests about this time, and carry them off as soonas they are filled with eggs. This is the way our eider-down is obtained. The mother-bird, in her distress, makesanother nest; but her down is gone, and she has nothingto line it with, so her mate is now obliged to strip thedown from his breast also. The natives do not disturbthis second nest which the male has lined, for if theyshould destroy the nests too often there might be noeider-ducks to visit their shores by-and-by. Soon afterthe young ducks are hatched they are taken
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1887
