Length: 17 inches Wingspan: 41 inches
Large diving duck
Bill feathered along side almost to nostril
Long sloping forehead
Adult male alternate:
Several races
Black crown
Greenish rear of head
Dark or yellow bill
Black underparts
White upperparts and breast
Black tail and around tail
Immature male similar to female but has white breast
Adult female:
Dark gray to rusty-brown plumage with fine black barring
Barring on flanks in lines
Similar species:
The adult male King Eider has a bright orange bill and shield and a dark back. Immature male Common Eider has a dark bill while the immature male King Eider has an orange bill. Female King and Common Eiders are very similar but note the barring on the flanks; linear in Common, arrow-shaped in King. King Eiders have steeper foreheads than Commons and the feathering on the bill is different-in the Common Eider it extends farther from the side of the bill toward the nostril and less far down the forehead than the King.
Thick-necked stocky birds, alternately flapping and sailing in flight; flocks string out in a line, close to the water. Occurs in the United States chiefly along New England coasts and occasionally south to New Jersey. Other eiders - king, spectacled and Stellar's - occur in Alaska and are not pictured in this guide. King eiders occasionally are found in north Atlantic coastal waters.
