One of the most striking and unusual sea ducks in the Arctic. Adult males in breeding plumage look almost unreal: a pale green and cream head with large white patches around the eyes outlined in black, like a bird wearing snow goggles, plus a big orange bill and a mostly black-and-white body. Females are more subtly patterned in warm browns, but even they show a softer version of the same pale eye-ring if you get a good look. Slightly smaller than the common eider but still a hefty duck, the spectacled eider has the rounded head, thick neck, and dense, waterproof plumage you’d expect from a bird that spends most of its life in icy seas.

This species has a very narrow and northern lifestyle. Spectacled eiders breed in just a few regions: the coastal tundra of western and northern Alaska, and parts of northeastern Siberia. In summer, they nest on low, boggy tundra near shallow ponds, where females choose slightly raised hummocks for their nests and line them with down plucked from their own breasts. Once the short Arctic summer ends, the entire population disappears offshore. For a long time, nobody knew where they went.

It wasn’t until the mid-1990s, using satellite tracking, that researchers discovered their secret wintering grounds: a relatively small area of the Bering Sea pack ice, south of St. Lawrence Island, where tens of thousands of birds pack into openings in the ice and dive for food. That means a huge share of the world population is concentrated in a very tight area each winter, making them especially vulnerable to changes in sea ice and pollution.

Like other eiders, spectacled eiders are diving shellfish specialists. At sea, they feed mainly on clams and other mollusks on the ocean floor, swallowing them whole and letting their powerful gizzards crush the shells. On breeding grounds, they switch to a mix of aquatic insects, small crustaceans, and plant material.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Norway

2020

Vagrant

Russia

2020

United States

2020