King Eider Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A heavyset duck with short, thick neck, rather large rounded head, and fairly short but heavy bill. Adult males have a large plate above the bill that creates a bulge in the forehead. Females have a graceful sloping transition between forehead and bill.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Surf Scoter, smaller than a Common Eider.

  between crow and goose

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 18.5-25.2 in (47-64 cm)
    • Weight: 42.3-74.1 oz (1200-2100 g)

  © Ian Davies / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Adult males are pale on the head and neck and mostly black on the body, with a large orange plate above the red bill. The crown is tinged blue-gray and the face is greenish. The back, underwing, flank and upperwing are white. Adult females are rich rusty brown intricately patterned with black. The cheek and neck are paler brown and the bill is black. Immature males are dark brown with a white chest and orange bill.

• Behavior

  At sea, dives deeply to take prey from the sea floor or the underside of sea ice. In shallow tundra lakes, picks prey from the water’s surface, tipping up, seining (straining water through the bill to trap small prey), and probing in mud. Rests, migrates, and forages in flocks, sometimes mixed with other sea ducks.
• Habitat

  Nests in relatively barren tundra of the high Arctic, usually near water, either the coast or interior lakes. Spends several months at molt-migration stopover sites, in fjords or in the open ocean. Winters at the southern edge of sea ice, in Hudson Bay, and in small numbers in farther south.