Common Eider (Somateria mollissima)

Other Names (World)
Common Eider, Eider, Eider Duck, St. Cuthbert's Duck, Faeroes Eider (faeroeensis), Northern Eider (borealis), Hudson Bay Eider (sedentaria), Dresser's Eider, Atlantic Eider (dresseri)

Family
Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, Swans)

Size
50 - 71 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Coastal waters usually close to shore.

Range (Guide)

Austria (NB), Belarus (NB), Belgium (NB), Bulgaria (NB), Canada (B) (NB) (P), Czech Republic (NB), Denmark (B) (NB) (P), Estonia (B) (NB) (P), Faroe Islands (B) (NB), Finland (B) (NB) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Greenland (B) (NB), Iceland (B) (NB), Ireland (B) (NB), Italy (B) (NB), Latvia (NB), Liechtenstein, Lithuania (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (NB), Netherlands Antilles (B) (NB), Norway (B) (NB) (P), Poland (B) (NB), Romania (NB), Russia (Asian) (B) (NB), Russia (European) (B) (NB), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (NB), Slovenia (NB), Spain (NB), St Pierre and Miquelon (NB) (P), Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (B), Sweden (B) (NB) (P), Switzerland (B) (NB), Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Kingdom (B) (NB), USA (B).

Vagrant to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska), Georgia, Greece (NB), Hungary (NB), Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Montenegro (NB), Portugal, Russia (Central Asian), Serbia (NB), Turkey (NB).

Population
Estimated population is 3,100,000 - 3,800,000 (2010).

Status NT
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mainly molluscs, including blue mussels, crabs, periwinkles, star-fish and sea urchins. Also fish. Breeding females will also eat plant material.

Voice
Male, a soft, dove-like cooing call, 'ar-oooo', uttered during display. Otherwise silent.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (135)...)

Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) [XC549046]
by Eetu Paljakka from L\u00f6v\u00f6b\u00e5dan, V\u00e4sterbottens l\u00e4n, Sweden (call, song)

Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) [XC478974]
by Andrew Harrop from J\u00f6kuls\u00e1rl\u00f3n, Iceland (begging call, call)

Nest
On the ground, often exposed, lined with down.

Eggs (Guide)
4 - 5; green, usually tinted olive or grey or buff, often with stain spots; ellipsoidal. Incubation: 27 - 28 days; by male.

Subspecies
Closely linked to King Eider (Somateria spectabilis), with which it frequently hybridizes.

The following 6 subspecies are recognised:

mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758) - North-western Europe east to Novaya Zemlya.
faeroeensis Brehm, CL, 1831 - Faeroe Is.
v-nigrum Bonaparte and Gray, GR, 1855 - New Siberian Is (north-eastern Siberia) east to north-western North America.
borealis (Brehm, CL, 1824) - Arctic Atlantic from Baffin I east through Greenland and Iceland to Franz Josef Land.
sedentaria Snyder, 1941 - Hudson Bay region.
dresseri Sharpe, 1871 - Atlantic north-eastern North America.

References
See References.

The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7

Files:

JPG files for Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) - 10 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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