Spectacled Eider

Overview

Spectacled Eider: Smallest of the Eiders, has orange bill, white upperparts, black underparts, breast, sides, black pointed tail, yellow-green head and large white "goggles" bordered with black. White feathers on the upper mandible extend past nostril. Rapid direct flight in straight line formation.

Range and Habitat

Spectacled Eider: Found along the arctic coastal plains of Alaska, Russia, and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Prefers open sea and tundra. The entire population winters in the Bering Sea in great open areas of packed ice.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Spectacled Eider was first described in 1847 by Johann Friedrich von Brandt, a German naturalist. This bird is also known as Fischer’s Eider, which commemorates Johann Fischer von Waldheim, German anatomist and paleontologist. A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.