Common eider: Difference between revisions

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| status = NT
| status = NT
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Somateria mollissima'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T22680405A132525971 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22680405A132525971.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2018 |title=''Somateria mollissima'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T22680405A132525971 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22680405A132525971.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Somateria
| genus = Somateria
| species = mollissima
| species = mollissima
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| synonyms = ''Anas mollissima'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
| synonyms = ''Anas mollissima'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
}}
}}
[[File:Baltsende eiders-4961556.webm|right|thumb|Common eiders (Somateria mollissima) in the breeding season on Texel, the Netherlands.]]
[[File:Baltsende eiders-4961556.webm|right|thumb|Common eiders in the breeding season on Texel, the Netherlands]]
The '''common eider''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|ai|.|d|@r}}) ('''''Somateria mollissima'''''), also called '''St. Cuthbert's duck''' or '''Cuddy's duck''', is a large ({{cvt|50|–|71|cm}} in body length) [[Merginae|sea-duck]] that is distributed over the northern coasts of [[Europe]], [[North America]] and eastern [[Siberia]]. It breeds in [[Arctic]] and some northern temperate regions, but [[bird migration|winters]] somewhat farther south in [[temperate]] zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. It can fly at speeds up to {{cvt|113|km/h}}.<ref name=birds-speed/>
The '''common eider''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|ai|.|d|@r}}) ('''''Somateria mollissima'''''), also called '''St. Cuthbert's duck''' or '''Cuddy's duck''', is a large ({{cvt|50|–|71|cm}} in body length) [[Merginae|sea-duck]] that is distributed over the northern coasts of [[Europe]], [[North America]] and eastern [[Siberia]]. It breeds in [[Arctic]] and some northern temperate regions, but [[bird migration|winters]] somewhat farther south in [[temperate]] zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. It can fly at speeds up to {{cvt|113|km/h}}.<ref name=birds-speed/>


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==Taxonomy==
==Taxonomy==
The common eider was [[Species description|formally named]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''. He placed it with all the other ducks in the [[genus]] ''[[Anas]]'' and coined the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Anas mollissima''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=124 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727029}}</ref> It is now placed with two other species in the genus ''[[Somateria]]'' that was introduced in 1819 by the English zoologist [[William Elford Leach|William Leach]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Leach | first=William Elford | author-link=William Elford Leach | editor-last=Ross | editor-first=John | editor-link=John Ross (Royal Navy officer) | year=1819 | title=A Voyage of Discovery made under the orders of the Admiralty in her Majesty's ships Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay, and enquiring into the probability of a North-West passage | location=London | publisher=John Murray | at=Appendix II, p. 48 | url=https://archive.org/details/voyageofdiscover00ross/page/48/mode/1up }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Screamers, ducks, geese & swans | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waterfowl/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=30 November 2021 }}</ref> The genus name is derived from [[Ancient Greek]] {{linktext|σῶμα}} ''sōma'' 'body' (stem ''somat-'') and {{linktext|ἔριον}} ''erion'' 'wool'. The specific ''mollissimus'' is [[Latin]], meaning 'very soft'. Both parts of the name refer to its [[down feathers]].<ref>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 |page = [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n258 258], [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n359 359]}}</ref>
The common eider was [[Species description|formally named]] by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''. He placed it with all the other ducks in the [[genus]] ''[[Anas]]'' and coined the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Anas mollissima''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=124 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727029}}</ref> It is now placed with two other species in the genus ''[[Somateria]]'' that was introduced in 1819 by the English zoologist [[William Elford Leach|William Leach]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Leach | first=William Elford | author-link=William Elford Leach | editor-last=Ross | editor-first=John | editor-link=John Ross (Royal Navy officer) | year=1819 | title=A Voyage of Discovery made under the orders of the Admiralty in her Majesty's ships Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay, and enquiring into the probability of a North-West passage | location=London | publisher=John Murray | at=Appendix II, p. 48 | url=https://archive.org/details/voyageofdiscover00ross/page/48/mode/1up }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Screamers, ducks, geese & swans | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waterfowl/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=30 November 2021 }}</ref> The genus name is derived from [[Ancient Greek]] {{linktext|σῶμα}} {{Lang|grc-Latn|sōma}} 'body' (stem ''somat-'') and {{linktext|ἔριον}} {{Lang|grc-Latn|erion}} 'wool'. The specific ''mollissimus'' is [[Latin]], meaning 'very soft'. Both parts of the name refer to its [[down feathers]].<ref>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher = Christopher Helm | location = London | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 |page = [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n258 258], [https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n359 359]}}</ref>


=== Subspecies ===
Six subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
Six subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
* ''S. m. v-nigrum'' [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]] & [[George Robert Gray|Gray, GR]], 1855 – breeds in northeast Asia and Alaska; winters in the [[Bering Sea]] and the [[Aleutian Islands]]
* ''S. m. v-nigrum'' [[Charles Lucien Bonaparte|Bonaparte]] & [[George Robert Gray|Gray, GR]], 1855 – breeds in northeast Asia and Alaska; winters in the [[Bering Sea]] and the [[Aleutian Islands]]
* ''S. m. borealis'' ([[Christian Ludwig Brehm|Brehm, CL]], 1824) – breeds in northeast Canada, Greenland and Iceland; winters in the north Atlantic
* ''S. m. borealis'' ([[Christian Ludwig Brehm|Brehm, CL]], 1824) – breeds in northeast Canada, Greenland and Iceland; winters in the north Atlantic
* ''S. m. sedentaria'' Snyder, 1941 – breeds in [[Hudson Bay]] and [[James Bay]] (Canada)  
* ''S. m. sedentaria'' Snyder, 1941 – breeds in [[Hudson Bay]] and [[James Bay]] (Canada)  
* ''S. m. dresseri'' [[Richard Bowdler Sharpe|Sharpe]], 1871 – breeds in southeast Canada and northeast USA; winters around northwest Atlantic coasts
* ''S. m. dresseri'' [[Richard Bowdler Sharpe|Sharpe]], 1871 – breeds in southeast Canada and northeast US; winters around northwest Atlantic coasts
* ''S. m. faeroeensis'' Brehm, CL, 1831 – [[Faroe Islands]]
* ''S. m. faeroeensis'' Brehm, CL, 1831 – [[Faroe Islands]]
* ''S. m. mollissima'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) – breeds in northwest Eurasia; winters in northwest and central Europe
* ''S. m. mollissima'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) – breeds in northwest Eurasia; winters in northwest and central Europe
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[[File:Somateria mollissima MWNH 1023.JPG|thumb|Egg, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]
[[File:Somateria mollissima MWNH 1023.JPG|thumb|Egg, Collection [[Museum Wiesbaden]]]]


The common eider is both the largest of the four [[eider]] species and the largest [[duck]] found in Europe, and is exceeded in North America only by smatterings of the [[Muscovy duck]], which only reaches North America in a wild state in southernmost Texas (and arguably south Florida where feral but non-native populations reside). It measures {{convert|50|to|71|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in length, weighs {{convert|0.81|to|3.04|kg|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}} and spans {{convert|80|-|110|cm|in|abbr=on}} across the wings.<ref name=AAB/><ref name=Ogilvie2004/> The average weight of 22 males in the [[North Atlantic]] was {{convert|2.21|kg|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}} while 32 females weighed an average of {{convert|1.92|kg|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=CRC/> It is characterized by its bulky shape and large, wedge-shaped bill. The male is unmistakable, with its black and white plumage and green nape. The female is a brown bird, but can still be readily distinguished from all ducks, except other eider species, on the basis of size and head shape. The drake's display call is a strange almost human-like "ah-ooo", while the hen utters hoarse quacks. The species is often readily approachable.
The common eider is both the largest of the four [[eider]] species and the largest [[duck]] found in Europe, and is exceeded in North America only by smatterings of the [[Muscovy duck]], which only reaches North America in a wild state in southernmost Texas (and arguably south Florida where feral but non-native populations reside). It measures {{convert|50|to|71|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} in length, weighs {{convert|0.81|to|3.04|kg|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}} and spans {{convert|80|-|110|cm|in|abbr=on}} across the wings.<ref name=AAB/><ref name=Ogilvie2004/> The average weight of 22 males in the [[North Atlantic]] was {{convert|2.21|kg|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}} while 32 females weighed an average of {{convert|1.92|kg|lboz|frac=2|abbr=on}}.<ref name=CRC/> It is characterized by its bulky shape and large, wedge-shaped bill. The male is distinct, with its black and white plumage and green nape. The female is a brown bird, but can still be readily distinguished from all ducks, except other eider species, on the basis of size and head shape. The drake's display call is a strange almost human-like "ah-ooo", while the hen utters hoarse quacks. The species is often readily approachable.


Drakes of the European, eastern North American and Asia/western North American races can be distinguished by minor differences in plumage and bill colour. Some authorities place the subspecies ''v-nigra'' as a separate species.
Drakes of the European, eastern North American and Asia/western North American races can be distinguished by minor differences in plumage and bill colour. Some authorities place the subspecies ''v-nigra'' as a separate species.
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File:Eider nestingboxes.JPG|Traditional man-made eider nesting boxes
File:Eider nestingboxes.JPG|Traditional man-made eider nesting boxes
File:Eider nest.jpg|Eider nest on the tundra in the Canadian Arctic
File:Eider nest.jpg|Eider nest on the tundra in the Canadian Arctic
File:EiderCreche.jpg|Small eider creche: three adult females over six ducklings at Biddeford Pool, ME.
File:EiderCreche.jpg|Small eider creche: three adult females over six ducklings at Biddeford Pool, Maine
File:Common eider (Somateria mollissima) male eclipse plumage stretching composite.jpg|stretching
File:Common eider (Somateria mollissima) male eclipse plumage stretching composite.jpg|Stretching
File:Somateria mollissima (Iceland).jpg|Common eider with ducklings swimming
File:Somateria mollissima (Iceland).jpg|Common eider with ducklings swimming
File:Eider Drake in Snow.png|A Drake Common Eider in the Nonesuch River, Scarborough, Maine.
File:Eider Drake in Snow.png|A Drake Common Eider in the Nonesuch River, Scarborough, Maine
</gallery>
</gallery>


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<ref name=birds-speed>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetravelalmanac.com/lists/birds-speed.htm |title=The World's Fastest Birds }}</ref>
<ref name=birds-speed>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetravelalmanac.com/lists/birds-speed.htm |title=The World's Fastest Birds }}</ref>


<ref name=Chapdelaine1986a>{{cite book |last1=Chapdelaine |first1=G. |first2=P. |last2=Dupuis |first3=A. |last3=Reed |year=1986 |chapter=Distribution, abondance et fluctuation des populations d’eider à duvet dans l’estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent |trans-chapter=Distribution, abundance and population fluctuations of the common eider in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence |language=fr |pages=6–11 |title=Eider ducks in Canada |editor-first=A. |editor-last=Reed |series=Canadian Wildlife Service Report Series |number=47 |location=Ottawa, ON |publisher=Canadian Wildlife Service}}</ref>
<ref name=Chapdelaine1986a>{{cite book |last1=Chapdelaine |first1=G. |first2=P. |last2=Dupuis |first3=A. |last3=Reed |year=1986 |chapter=Distribution, abondance et fluctuation des populations d'eider à duvet dans l'estuaire et le golfe du Saint-Laurent |trans-chapter=Distribution, abundance and population fluctuations of the common eider in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence |language=fr |pages=6–11 |title=Eider ducks in Canada |editor-first=A. |editor-last=Reed |series=Canadian Wildlife Service Report Series |number=47 |location=Ottawa, ON |publisher=Canadian Wildlife Service}}</ref>


<ref name=Chaulk2012>{{cite journal |title=Extinction, colonization, and distribution patterns of common eider populations nesting in a naturally fragmented landscape |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |first1=K.G. |last1=Chaulk |first2=G.J. |last2=Robertson |first3=W.A. |last3=Montevecchi |date=November 10, 2006 |volume=84 |number=10 |pages=1402–1408 |doi=10.1139/z06-138}}</ref>
<ref name=Chaulk2012>{{cite journal |title=Extinction, colonization, and distribution patterns of common eider populations nesting in a naturally fragmented landscape |journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology |first1=K.G. |last1=Chaulk |first2=G.J. |last2=Robertson |first3=W.A. |last3=Montevecchi |date=November 10, 2006 |volume=84 |number=10 |pages=1402–1408 |doi=10.1139/z06-138}}</ref>
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<ref name=peopleofafeather>{{cite web |title=People of a Feather |url=http://www.peopleofafeather.com/ |access-date=8 February 2012}}</ref>
<ref name=peopleofafeather>{{cite web |title=People of a Feather |url=http://www.peopleofafeather.com/ |access-date=8 February 2012}}</ref>


<ref name=seaduckjv>{{cite web |title=Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) |url=http://seaduckjv.org/infoseries/coei_sppfactsheet.pdf |work=Sea Duck Information Series |publisher=Sea Duck Joint Venture |access-date=9 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907090447/http://www.seaduckjv.org/infoseries/coei_sppfactsheet.pdf |archive-date=7 September 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
<ref name=seaduckjv>{{cite web |title=Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) |url=http://seaduckjv.org/infoseries/coei_sppfactsheet.pdf |work=Sea Duck Information Series |publisher=Sea Duck Joint Venture |access-date=9 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907090447/http://www.seaduckjv.org/infoseries/coei_sppfactsheet.pdf |archive-date=7 September 2008 }}</ref>


<ref name = "Waltho">{{cite book | title = The Common Eider | first1 = Chris | last1 = Waltho | first2 = John | last2 = Coulson | publisher = T & A D Poyser | location = London, UK | year = 2015| isbn = 978-1-4081-5280-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=32bqBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT274}}</ref>
<ref name = "Waltho">{{cite book | title = The Common Eider | first1 = Chris | last1 = Waltho | first2 = John | last2 = Coulson | publisher = T & A D Poyser | location = London, UK | year = 2015| isbn = 978-1-4081-5280-5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=32bqBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT274}}</ref>
}}
}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.bionyt.dk/Groenland-debat.html |title=New Greenland Government Allows Spring Bird Hunt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015190057/http://www.bionyt.dk/Groenland-debat.html |archive-date=15 October 2012 |url-status=dead}}
* {{Cite web |url=http://www.bionyt.dk/Groenland-debat.html |title=New Greenland Government Allows Spring Bird Hunt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015190057/http://www.bionyt.dk/Groenland-debat.html |archive-date=15 October 2012 }}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Somateria mollissima}}
{{Commons category|Somateria mollissima}}
{{Wikispecies|Somateria mollissima}}
{{Wikispecies|Somateria mollissima}}
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Common_Eider.html Common Eider Species Account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Eider Common Eider Species Account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161023214151/http://www.massaudubon.org/our-conservation-work/wildlife-research-conservation/statewide-bird-monitoring/breeding-bird-atlases/bba2/find-a-bird/(id)/264 Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas – Common Eider]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161023214151/http://www.massaudubon.org/our-conservation-work/wildlife-research-conservation/statewide-bird-monitoring/breeding-bird-atlases/bba2/find-a-bird/(id)/264 Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas – Common Eider]
* {{InternetBirdCollection|common-eider-somateria-mollissima}}
* {{EBirdSpecies|comeid|Common Eider}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181002055535/http://maineseaduck.com/ Eider Duck Hunting] information and pictures.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181002055535/http://maineseaduck.com/ Eider Duck Hunting] information and pictures.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfcxGusc-9U YouTube video of Eider eating a crab]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfcxGusc-9U YouTube video of Eider eating a crab]
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[[Category:Holarctic birds]]
[[Category:Holarctic birds]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|common eider]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|common eider]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|common eider]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|common eider]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

Latest revision as of 06:24, 21 December 2025

Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox

File:Baltsende eiders-4961556.webm
Common eiders in the breeding season on Texel, the Netherlands

The common eider (pronounced Template:IPAc-en) (Somateria mollissima), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large (Template:Cvt in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, but winters somewhat farther south in temperate zones, when it can form large flocks on coastal waters. It can fly at speeds up to Template:Cvt.[1]

The eider's nest is built close to the sea and is lined with eiderdown, plucked from the female's breast. This soft and warm lining has long been harvested for filling pillows and quilts, but in more recent years has been largely replaced by down from domestic farm-geese and synthetic alternatives. Although eiderdown pillows or quilts are now a rarity—typically being marketed as luxury goods—eiderdown harvesting continues and is sustainable, as it can be done after the ducklings leave the nest with no harm to the birds.

Taxonomy

The common eider was formally named by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other ducks in the genus Anas and coined the binomial name Anas mollissima.[2] It is now placed with two other species in the genus Somateria that was introduced in 1819 by the English zoologist William Leach.[3][4] The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek Template:Linktext Script error: No such module "Lang". 'body' (stem somat-) and Template:Linktext Script error: No such module "Lang". 'wool'. The specific mollissimus is Latin, meaning 'very soft'. Both parts of the name refer to its down feathers.[5]

Subspecies

Six subspecies are recognised:[4]

  • S. m. v-nigrum Bonaparte & Gray, GR, 1855 – breeds in northeast Asia and Alaska; winters in the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands
  • S. m. borealis (Brehm, CL, 1824) – breeds in northeast Canada, Greenland and Iceland; winters in the north Atlantic
  • S. m. sedentaria Snyder, 1941 – breeds in Hudson Bay and James Bay (Canada)
  • S. m. dresseri Sharpe, 1871 – breeds in southeast Canada and northeast US; winters around northwest Atlantic coasts
  • S. m. faeroeensis Brehm, CL, 1831 – Faroe Islands
  • S. m. mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758) – breeds in northwest Eurasia; winters in northwest and central Europe

Description

File:Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) skull at the Royal Veterinary College anatomy museum.JPG
A common eider skull
File:Somateria mollissima MWNH 1023.JPG
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

The common eider is both the largest of the four eider species and the largest duck found in Europe, and is exceeded in North America only by smatterings of the Muscovy duck, which only reaches North America in a wild state in southernmost Texas (and arguably south Florida where feral but non-native populations reside). It measures Script error: No such module "convert". in length, weighs Script error: No such module "convert". and spans Script error: No such module "convert". across the wings.[6][7] The average weight of 22 males in the North Atlantic was Script error: No such module "convert". while 32 females weighed an average of Script error: No such module "convert"..[8] It is characterized by its bulky shape and large, wedge-shaped bill. The male is distinct, with its black and white plumage and green nape. The female is a brown bird, but can still be readily distinguished from all ducks, except other eider species, on the basis of size and head shape. The drake's display call is a strange almost human-like "ah-ooo", while the hen utters hoarse quacks. The species is often readily approachable.

Drakes of the European, eastern North American and Asia/western North American races can be distinguished by minor differences in plumage and bill colour. Some authorities place the subspecies v-nigra as a separate species.

This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs, with mussels being a favoured food. The eider will eat mussels by swallowing them whole; the shells are then crushed in their gizzard and excreted. When eating a crab, the eider will remove all of its claws and legs, and then eat the body in a similar fashion.

It is abundant, with populations of about 1.5–2 million birds in both North America and Europe, and also large but unknown numbers in eastern Siberia (HBW).

A particularly famous colony of eiders lives on the Farne Islands in Northumberland, England. These birds were the subject of one of the first ever bird protection laws, established by Saint Cuthbert in the year 676.[9] About 1,000 pairs still nest there every year. Because St. Cuthbert is the patron saint of Northumberland, it was natural that the eider should be chosen as the county's emblem bird; the birds are still often called Cuddy's ducks in the area, "Cuddy" being the familiar form of "Cuthbert".

In Canada's Hudson Bay, important eider die-offs were observed in the 1990s by local populations due to quickly changing ice flow patterns. The Canadian Wildlife Service has spent several years gathering up-to-date information on their populations, and preliminary results seem to show a population recovery.[10][11][12] The common eider is the object of the 2011 documentary People of a Feather,Script error: No such module "Unsubst". which studies the historical relationship between the Sanikiluaq community and eiders, as well as various aspects of their ecology.[13]

The common eider is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Social behaviour

Eiders are colonial breeders. They nest on coastal islands in colonies ranging in size of less than 100 to upwards of 15,000 individuals.[14] Female eiders frequently exhibit a high degree of natal philopatry, where they return to breed on the same island where they were hatched. This can lead to a high degree of relatedness between individuals nesting on the same island, as well as the development of kin-based female social structures.[15] This relatedness has likely played a role in the evolution of co-operative breeding behaviours amongst eiders. Examples of these behaviours include laying eggs in the nests of related individuals[16] and crèching, where female eiders team up and share the work of rearing ducklings.[17]

Gallery

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Template:Cite AllAboutBirds
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

  • Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

External links

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