About
Name: King Eider (Somateria spectabilis)
Length: 50 to 70 cm
Weight: 1.5 kg
Location: Asia, North America, Europe
Conservation status: Least Concern
Diet: Krill, squid, fish
Appearance: Males have a black body, white chest, blue head and neck, green cheek, and red bill with a yellow "crown." Females are brown with darker flank markings and a light black bill.
How do King Eiders feed?
During breeding season, King Eiders feed in fresh water, capturing small invertebrates from the surface. Throughout the rest of the year, they dive in the ocean to forage for invertebrates near the shallow sea floor, diving up to 50 meters deep.
Are King Eiders social?
King Eiders are highly social, forming flocks of up to 100,000 individuals.
How fast do King Eiders fly?
They can reach speeds over 70 km per hour.
What are King Eider birthing rituals like?
King Eiders migrate to their breeding grounds in June and July. They build nests lined with down and grass in scrapes on the Arctic tundra. Females lay 4 to 7 eggs and incubate them for 20 to 25 days. Chicks are raised in groups by the females and fledge at about 50 days old.
How long do King Eiders live?
They typically live 15 to 20 years in the wild.
How many King Eiders are there today?
The global population is estimated between 790,000 and 930,000 individuals.
Do King Eiders have any natural predators?
Their young and eggs are preyed upon by Arctic Foxes, Ravens, Gulls, and Skuas (Jeagers).
7 Edifying King Eider Facts
- King Eiders can cross-breed with Common Eiders.
- The genus name Somateria comes from Greek words "soma" meaning “body” and "erion" meaning “wool,” referring to their thick down.
- Despite their large range, they have no recognized subspecies.
- "Spectabilis" means “remarkable display” in Latin, highlighting the males' colorful plumage.
- Their weight varies seasonally, from 0.9 kg to 2.2 kg.
- King Eiders are among the largest sea ducks in the Northern Hemisphere.
- Females lose significant weight during incubation as they rarely feed.
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Blog
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Solargraphy & Pin Hole photography in the Arctic
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Polar bear feast
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When you think about Svalbard wildlife, you might imagine reindeer, Arctic foxes, polar bears – the primary animal attractions that draw passengers to an Arctic cruise. But in fact, the Svalbard archipelago is a thriving location for over 1,000 species of terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates: animals that lack backbones. Despite this richness of life, however, these invertebrates are only found in the Isfjord and Kongsfjord areas of these wonderfully diverse islands.
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Spitsbergen: a true polar bear trip
On the third day of our Svalbard cruise, we navigated through the sea ice north of Spitsbergen. The morning greeted us with fog and fragmented ice, but conditions gradually improved. A swarm of black-legged kittiwakes trailed behind us, as our ship stirred the waters, pushing aside ice floes to reveal the tiny dark polar cod beneath.
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Polar bear encounter in Spitsbergen
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Birding Opportunities Abound in Spitsbergen
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Svalbard a Disneyland for geologists
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What’s so Special about East Spitsbergen?
We’ve previously discussed our north Spitsbergen journeys and Spitsbergen circumnavigations, but the eastern parts of this incredible island have not received the attention they deserve. Despite the name, our east Spitsbergen voyages explore much more than just the eastern side of Spitsbergen.
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Svalbard’s Texas Bar
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Polar Bear Primer: Eight Facts About the Arctic Wanderer
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The Pack Ice and Polar Bears of North Spitsbergen
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“The polar bear will still be there”
For several hours, we had been navigating the pack ice in search of polar bears. Despite numerous binoculars scanning the ice, no bears were visible, and only a few tracks were found. This suggested we might be in an area with fewer bears. Later that morning, we decided to head a few miles east, suspecting a higher bear population there.