Ducks, Geese and Swans (Anatidae)
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) - HBW 1, p. 621
French: Eider àduvet
German: Eiderente
Spanish: Eider Común
Other common names: Eider, Eider Duck
Taxonomy: Anas mollissima Linnaeus, 1758, northern Europe.
Closely linked to S. spectabilis, with which frequently hybridizes in the wild. Six subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758) - NW Europe E to Novaya Zemlya.
- faeroeensis C.L.Brehm, 1831 - Faeroe Is.
- v nigra G.R.Gray, 1856 - New Siberian Is (NE Siberia) E to NW North America.
- mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758) - NW Europe E to Novaya Zemlya.
- faeroeensis C.L.Brehm, 1831 - Faeroe Is.
- v nigra G.R.Gray, 1856 - New Siberian Is (NE Siberia) E to NW North America.
- borealis (C.L.Brehm, 1824) - Arctic Atlantic from Baffin I E through Greenland and Iceland to Franz Josef Land.
- sedentaria Snyder, 1941 - Hudson Bay region.
- dresseri Sharpe, 1871 - Atlantic NE North America.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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Pair courtship display, close up swimming and diving Locality Straumen, Nord-Trondelag County, Norway
Per Johan 11 February 2008 1 year ago 1 min 8 sec 4.6 -
Swimming in calm water, struggling in high tide Locality Straumen, Nord-Trondelag County, Norway
Per Johan 11 February 2008 1 year ago 1 min 30 sec 4.5 -
An alarmed, compact flock, swimming fast by paddling with the wings, then relaxing. Locality Vadso, Varanger Fjord, Finnmark County, Norway (ssp mollissima)
Josep del Hoyo 4 April 2010 1 year ago 36 sec 4.4 -
Females incubating their eggs and a view of a nest with four eggs Locality Farne Islands, Northumberland, England, Great Britain (ssp mollissima)
Greg Baker 28 May 2006 16 weeks ago 24 sec 4.3 -
A close up of a female Locality Groningen Province, Netherlands
Javier Ortas 13 February 2010 1 year ago 32 sec 4.3 -
A male in breeding plumage on a rock, preening Locality Living Coasts, Torquay, Devon, England, Great Britain (ssp mollissima)
Josep del Hoyo 23 November 2007 3 years ago 43 sec 4.1
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A male.
Locality Troon Harbour, Ayrshire, Scotland, Great Britain
clydebirder 21 January 2009 2 years ago 4.3 -
A female Eider resting on Düne, a small satellite Island of Helgoland, off the German northern coast
Locality Helgoland, Germany (ssp mollissima)
Gerard Visser 6 June 2010 1 year ago 4.3 -
Drake flying.
Locality Troon Harbour, Ayrshire, Scotland, Great Britain
clydebirder 21 January 2009 2 years ago 4.3 -
Breeding male swimming.
Locality Andoyane Islands, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Islands, Svalbard Islands and Jan Mayen (ssp borealis)
Christophe Gouraud 1 July 2010 1 year ago 4.2 -
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima), male
Locality Heligoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Kilian Wasmer 1 May 2008 37 weeks ago 4.2 -
Adult female incubating.
Locality Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Islands, Svalbard Islands and Jan Mayen (ssp borealis)
Christophe Gouraud 8 July 2010 1 year ago 4.1
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Calls of a female Locality London, England, Great Britain
Stuart Fisher 21 February 2010 1 year ago 4 -
Drake calls Locality London, England, Great Britain
Stuart Fisher 2 years ago 4
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