Looks exactly like something called “King” should: bright, bold, and impossible to ignore on an otherwise gray Arctic sea. Adult males in full breeding plumage are among the most spectacular ducks on the planet. Their body is mostly black with a neat white chest and back, but the real drama is in the head and bill. The head is a soft, powdery blue, the cheeks pale, and the bill carries a big orange knob at the base, like a waxy shield. Tiny splashes of green and yellow around the face complete the look, so from a distance, a drake king eider can look like a floating jewel.
Females are much more camouflaged, covered in intricately patterned browns that let them disappear on tundra ground and rocky Arctic shores, but even they have a distinctive chunky, sloping-headed profile that hints at the royal identity.
Like other eiders, the king eider is a true sea duck, spending most of its life on cold northern oceans. It breeds on Arctic tundra across North America and Eurasia, nesting on low, open ground near ponds, rivers, or coastal inlets. Once the short Arctic summer ends, huge numbers move offshore to winter on frigid seas, often near the edge of pack ice. There, they ride rough water with ease, diving repeatedly to the sea floor to feed.
King Eiders are specialists at eating hard-shelled prey: mussels, clams, snails, and other invertebrates. They swallow these whole and let their powerful gizzard crush the shells. Finding food in such icy conditions takes stamina, so these ducks often gather in dense flocks, sometimes thousands strong, on small patches of open water where currents or winds keep the sea ice from fully freezing.
Distribution
Belarus
Belgium
Canada
Czechia
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greenland
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Russia
Saint Pierre
Spain
Svalbard
Sweden
United Kingdom
United StatesAnything we've missed?
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Flock
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
