University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers in Ornithology Papers in the Biological Sciences 3-1964 Comparative Behavior and Relationships of the Eiders Paul A. Johnsgard University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciornithology Part of the Ornithology Commons Johnsgard, Paul A., "Comparative Behavior and Relationships of the Eiders" (1964). Papers in Ornithology. 63. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciornithology/63 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Papers in the Biological Sciences at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in Ornithology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Johnsgard in Condor (March 1964) 66(2). Copyright 1964, University of California. Used by permission. Mar., 1964 113 COMPARATIVE BEHAVIOR AND RELATIONSHIPS OF THE EIDERS By PAUL A. JOHNSGARD One of the more controversial systematic problems existing in the family Anatidae concerns the taxonomic rank and evolutionary relationships of the four speciesof eiders, which are currently considered by the American Ornithologists’ Union (1957) to com- prise three genera (Somateria, Lampronetta, and Polysticta) in the diving duck sub- family Aythyinae. In 1945, however, Delacour and Mayr included the eiders in a single genus (Somateria) within the sea duck tribe Mergini. At present, Delacour (1959) considers the eiders a separate tribe, Somateriini, distinct from the other sea ducks, and placed near the dabbling duck tribe Anatini. The erection of this new tribe, and his recognition of Polysticta as a monotypic genus for the Steller Eider, was apparently the result of Humphrey’s (MS, Univ.