Where are King Eider found?

How many eggs does a king eider lay?

The female King Eider lays 4 to 5 pale olive eggs in a grass-lined depression on the tundra. The male leaves the female bird to incubate the eggs for 22 to 24 days who will rarely leave the nest. Her camouflaged coloring allows her to blend into the surroundings to protect her eggs in the face of danger from prey.

What is the scientific name for king eider?

The King Eider’s genus name Somateria gives a clue to how this bird can spend its winters in the coldest ocean waters. Somateria derives from the Greek words sōma, or “body,” and erion, which means “wool.” “Wool body” perfectly describes the thick layer of fluffy down found under the eider’s tougher exterior plumage.

What does a king eider bird look like?

Male King Eiders are colorful birds with black backs, pale green, underbelly and chest, white cheeks a light blue head, and a pale pink bill that is surrounded with a reddish-orange plate. The female is less colorful than her male counterpart. Her plumage is patterned cinnamon-brown feathers with black bars.

How do king eiders find food?

King Eiders forage at sea during the winter daylight hours, diving deep underwater to depths of over 100 feet in search of shellfish, krill, and squid. They use their well-developed eyesight to locate food, then swallow it while still underwater.

How many king eiders are there in the world?

The worldwide King Eider population is estimated to be between 790,000 and 930,000 individuals. Do King Eiders have any natural predators? King Eiders young and eggs are prey to Arctic Foxes, Ravens, Gulls, and Skuas (Jeagers).

How many eggs do king eiders lay?

King Eiders migrate to their breeding grounds in June and July. They construct a nest with down and grass spread throughout a scrape in the Arctic tundra ground. 4 to 7 eggs are laid. The female is the only one to incubate them for a period of 20 to 25 days. Once hatched the chicks are raised as a group by the females.

What is a king eider bird?

King eider. The king eider (pronounced /ˈaɪ.dər/) (Somateria spectabilis) is a large sea duck that breeds along Northern Hemisphere Arctic coasts of northeast Europe, North America and Asia. The birds spend most of the year in coastal marine ecosystems at high latitudes, and migrate to Arctic tundra to breed in June and July.

How many birds are in a king eider flock?

While they are migrating, flocks of King Eiders sometimes have several thousand birds. Once they reach their breeding ground, pairs form and they do not associate closely with other pairs.

Is the king eider a protected species?

Due to its large population and vast range, the king eider is listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The king eider is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Are king eiders and common eiders related?

King Eiders are known to cross-breed with Common Eiders. 2. The genus name Somateria comes from the Greek words sōma which means “body” and erion which means “wool.” This references the King Eider’s especially thick down. 3. Despite the fact that King Eiders have a very large worldwide range they have never developed any recognized subspecies. 4.

What is the scientific name of the Eider?

The name is derived from Ancient Greek σῶμα : sōma “body” (stem somat-) and ἔριον : erion “wool”, referring to eiderdown. Steller’s eider ( Polysticta stelleri) is in a different genus despite its name. The genus contains three species. coasts of Alaska and northeastern Siberia.

What does a male king eider look like?

Appearance: Males – black body, white chest, blue head and neck, green cheek, red bill with a yellow “crown” on top. Females – brown with darker markings on flanks, light black bill. How do King Eiders feed? During the breeding season King Eiders tend to feed in fresh water, nabbing small invertebrates from the water’s surface.

What does a common eider bird look like?

Females are warm brown with dense blackish barring and black bill. Look for flocks of Common Eiders in rocky marine waters, where they dive down, using their wings to swim, to pry mussels from rocks.

Why are there so many king eider chicks?

When lemmings are plentiful, the predators eat their fill, and don’t care to take extra time searching for and eating ducks. Thus, as lemming populations increase, the number of King Eider chicks that survive increases as well.

What is the habitat of the king eider?

Habitat of the King Eider. This duck species lives along coastlines and forages for food in the ocean. Though they live in arctic regions, they usually remain in areas without sea ice. They nest on land, and prefer areas close to the water. Their favorite nesting habitats are islands, marshes, and on the tundra.

What does a king eider look like?

The legs and feet are dull yellow to orange. Female king eiders are tawny-brown, barred with dusky brown chevrons (“V” marks) that can be similar in color to common eiders. The bill and facial skin are a dark olive-gray and the legs and feet are grayish. King eiders dive great depths to feed on mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic insects.

What do king eiders eat?

During the breeding season King Eiders tend to feed in fresh water, nabbing small invertebrates from the water’s surface. During the rest of the year they will spend more time on the ocean, diving to forage for invertebrates that are found closer to shallow bottom areas. They can dive for over 50 metres to reach the ocean floor.

How many types of eiders are there?

There are four types of eiders in North America. The Common Eider, the largest in the group, has the largest range and is seen across the North and on the east and west coastlines.

Are there eiders in Alaska?

The eiders are sea ducks found across the Arctic and subarctic zones of the northern hemisphere. All four of the world’s eider species breed in Alaska, and many of these birds remain in the state’s coastal waters during winter. The common, king, and spectacled eiders are among the largest ducks in North America.

What is the difference between a king eider and common eider?

gray top half of the head and sea-green shaded cheeks. While the king eider has a white chest like the common eider, kings have black backs. Female king eiders have much less feathering along the sides of the bill than common eiders, but forehead plumage extends part way down the top of the bill.

How often do eiders feed their babies?

Photo by USFWS. Female common eiders hunker down and brave wind, cold, and hunger to see that their eggs hatch, spending over 99% of their time on the nest while they’re incubating. They’ll leave to take a drink every 2–5 days, but they don’t feed during the whole incubation period which is often around 25 or 26 days!

How long do Eider eggs take to hatch?

Female common eider. Photo by USFWS. Female common eiders hunker down and brave wind, cold, and hunger to see that their eggs hatch, spending over 99% of their time on the nest while they’re incubating. They’ll leave to take a drink every 2–5 days, but they don’t feed during the whole incubation period which is often around 25 or 26 days!