King Eider

Breeding male.

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Play a video of this species
 

Female adult.

Menu

1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A large duck of Arctic coastal waters, the King Eider is one of North America's most spectacular waterfowl species. Highly gregarious for most of the year, it forms prodigious flocks during spring migration, sometimes exceeding 10,000 individuals.

Description

• Large, stocky duck.
• Male bold black-and-white with brightly colored head: black body, white chest, light blue crown and nape, greenish face, and bright red-orange bill with large round orange knob outlined with black.
• Female brown with black barring.

• Size: 47-64 cm (19-25 in)
• Weight: 1200-2100 g (42.36-74.13 ounces)

Sex Differences

Breeding male has colorful plumage and strikingly enlarged red-orange bill. Outside of the breeding season sexes are similar, but male has blackish wings with white patch on forewing, while female's wings are plainer and brown. Male is slightly larger.

Sound

Male makes a low, soft, somewhat dovelike "croo croo croooo." Female's various vocalizations include croaks and grunts.

Conservation Status

Some evidence of possible recent population declines, especially in western North America. No specific conservation measures yet taken.

Other Names

Eider à tête grise, Eider remarquable (French)
Eider real (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The King Eider forages on sea beds up to 25 meters (82 ft) deep.
• The female King Eider alone attends the nest. When an intruder is present, the female sits low on the nest with her head flattened on the ground. She sits tightly on the eggs and sometimes can be touched or picked up off of the nest.

• The female King Eider does not feed very often during the 22-24 day incubation period. One female did not leave her nest for seven days before being flushed by an arctic fox.

Sources used to construct this page:

Suydam, R. S. 2000. King Eider (Somateria spectabilis). In The Birds of North America, No. 491 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.