Among the forty species of bird on the island are the ptarmigan, arctic tern, and eider duck.
We talk a little more, about the eider ducks and the weather, then the two men ride off.
Each of the rafts, which are 40-by-40 feet, yields 60,000 pounds a year, provided that predatory eider ducks can be kept at bay.
No sooner has the eider duck made her nest than she lines the inside of it with the softest down from her breast.
The eider duck is endangered because its furlike feathers are, in the words of Icelanders, "white gold."
Certain birds such as the eider duck, guillemot and ptarmigan are hunted for food in the winter.
It is collected from the nests of the eider duck, which has the warmest down of all.
The two dead eider ducks hung from the beam, their wings outstretched and throwing a grotesque shadow on the wall.
The full coat of arms includes an eider duck as the crest.
"It appears that the origin of the feathers and feather particles recovered from the three other cases is common eider duck."