King Eider
Somateria spectabilis
- Class
- Bird
- Rarity
- Rare
- Observations
- 1,931
- Most observed in
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Description
The king eider (pronounced ) (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. They lay four to seven eggs in a scrape on the ground lined with grass and down.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “King eider”.