KING EIDERS
KING EIDER & BIRDING INFORMATION |
|
Description Length: 53-60 cm. Adult male: Neck, shoulders and breast white; back and belly black; top of head bluish gray; cheeks greenish white; bill orange to red; large yellow-orange shield extending from bill onto forehead; legs and feet yellowish orange. Adult female: Similar to Common Eider but feathers on side of bill do not reach to nostril.
Range Breeds in the Canadian Arctic, Alaska, Greenland and Siberia. On the Atlantic coast, it winters south to Massachusetts but rarely beyond.
As a rule King Eiders range further offshore. To some it is known as the "comb duck" because of the strange formation of its bill. Even at long distances, the adult male of this eider can be distinguished from adult male Common Eiders by the larger amount of black on its wings and back.
BIRDING INFORMATION |
Characterized by short, cool, windy summers, the north coast offers
some unique birding opportunities to observe shorebirds in breeding plumage.
Parasitic
Jaegers, many shorebirds, and eiders are all locally common ion the Arctic
plain. Breeding species often seen include
Spectacled,
Steller's
and
King
Eider,
Sabine's
Gull &
Snowy
Owl.
Commonly seen from the shoreline areas are numbers of jaegers,
all four species of eiders,
Sabine's
and
Glaucous
Gulls, and
Yellow-billed
Loons.
Ross's
Gulls and
Ivory
Gulls are only seen in the fall (September and October).
BIRD & WILDLIFE WATCHING TRIP REPORT
OTHER BIRDING LINKS
King Eider Inn is a proud member of the following...
Please consider staying at the
King Eider Inn
if you find yourself headed for the top of the
world!
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