King Eider

Overview

The king eider, Somateria spectabilis, is a large sea duck that breeds along Northern Hemisphere Arctic coasts in northeast Europe, North America, and Asia. The species spends most of its life in coastal marine ecosystems at high latitudes and is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Males are unmistakable with a mostly black body, a buff-tinged white breast, and a multicoloured head featuring a pale bluish-grey nape and pale green cheek.
• The male possesses a distinctive red bill with a white nail and a large, orange-yellow knob that resembles a crown.
• Females are warm brown overall, slightly paler on the head and neck, with blackish chevrons on the upperparts and flanks.
• Males produce a quavering, dove-like cooing song transcribed as croo-croo-croo or hoo-hoo-hooo.
• The species is large, measuring 50–70 cm in length with a wingspan of 86–102 cm.

Habitat

This circumpolar species breeds on the Arctic coast of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Svalbard, and Russia using a variety of tundra habitats. It winters in arctic and subarctic marine areas, including the Bering Sea, the west coast of Greenland, eastern Canada, and northern Norway, where it can form flocks exceeding 100,000 birds.

Diet

The king eider's foraging strategies change with the season; for much of the year, it dives for benthic invertebrates such as mollusks, crustaceans like king crabs, and sea urchins while at sea. During the breeding season, it forages more on freshwater lakes and ponds, dabbling for small invertebrates plucked from the water's surface.

Did you know?

The genus name Somateria is derived from the Greek words for 'body' and 'wool', a direct reference to the bird's famously thick and soft down. Additionally, the oldest known king eider was a female that lived for at least 18 years and 11 months.