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King Eider Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Male calls
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Alaska, June 13, 2013Recorded by Andrew Spencer / Macaulay Library
Female calls
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Nunavut, June 16, 2008Recorded by Martha Fischer / Macaulay Library
Female calls
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Nunavut, July 24, 1969Recorded by Stewart D. MacDonald / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Nunavut, July 24, 1969Recorded by Stewart D. MacDonald / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Males give a gentle, dovelike ruuurrr call, often repeated, when courting females. Both sexes give a low kwak in alarm, along with growling, croaking, grunting, and murmuring calls heard mostly on breeding grounds. Birds observed in winter well south of the typical range are mostly silent.

Other Sounds

The modified scapular feathers on the back of adult male King Eiders, which look like small sails when erected, may make a vibrating noise when the bird lands on water.

Compare with Similar Species

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Spectacled Eider

Spectacled Eider

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Species in This Family

Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family: Anatidae)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Greater White-fronted Goose

Pink-footed Goose

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Eurasian Wigeon

American Wigeon

American Black Duck

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Ring-necked Duck

Steller's Eider

Spectacled Eider

White-winged Scoter

Long-tailed Duck

Common Goldeneye

Barrow's Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Browse Species in This Family

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