Eider Duck

Eider duck farming is an example of collaboration between men and animals. The eider duck is an important resource for Icelanders because of the down that the female eider plucks from its own chest to insulate its nest and keep its eggs warm. Eider farmers protect the eider from predatory birds and instead get to take part of the down and use it, for example in duvets. The farmers also clean the nests of debris potentially dangerous to the birds. Eiders lay their eggs in dense groups and on Höskuldur Björnsson’s picture we see three downinsulated nests. The female eiders nestle in two of them with their partners at their side, but monogomy is the principle among eider birds. At the centre of the image we nevertheless see unprotected eggs in a nest, but the female eider is at the forefront of the picture plane and seems to be headed out of the image. Where might it be going?

One might say that Höskuldur Björnsson specialized in painting birds in Icelandic nature. He grew up in Hornafjörður, an area that is the first point of entry for many migratory birds arriving in Iceland in the spring.