Species: Somateria spectabilis
King Elder
Species
Show on Lists
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Genus
Somateria
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
eider à tête grise
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Waterfowl
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Anseriformes - Anatidae - Somateria - (Livezey 1995). Genetic distinctiveness of North American east Arctic and west Arctic wintering populations of king eiders is unknown (Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003).
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A sea duck (eider).
Migration
false - true - true - Nesters from Beaufort Sea region winter in Bering Sea and along southwestern Greenland. First large pulse of migrants arrives in north-central Alaska around mid-May, Canadian Beaufort Sea coast in early June (or late May in some areas). Hundreds of thousands may migrate past Point Barrow in a single day in late May. Development in spring of offshore lead systems in pack ice is major determinant of routing and timing of spring migration (Johnson and Herter 1989). Males make extensive migration to molting areas in early to mid-summer (see Johnson and Herter 1989 for details for Beaufort Sea region). Most have departed from Beaufort Sea region by late September, though commonly observed there later. Arrives in Bering Sea in September-October.
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
Eats mainly mollusks, crustaceans, and insects; sometimes eats significant amounts of plant material. Forages mostly under water. (Palmer 1976).
Reproduction Comments
Eggs are laid in June-July; few nests started after 10 July. Clutch size usually is 4-6. Incubation, by female (male departs), lasts 22-24 days. Young are tended by female. Young of different broods may flock together. Females begin breeding at 2 years. Severe weather may cause widespread nest failure.
Ecology Comments
Mass starvation and low productivity can occur in years when low temperatures, ice, and snow persist in northern breeding areas (Johnson and Herter 1989). Winter flocks may include up to 15,000 birds.
Length
56
Weight
1668
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
2008-01-09
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-21
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.LB=S3&CA.MB=S1&CA.NB=__&CA.NF=__&CA.NT=S3&CA.NU=SNR&CA.ON=SH&CA.QC=S3&CA.YT=__&US.AK=S3&US.CT=__&US.ME=__&US.MD=__&US.MA=__&US.MI=__&US.NJ=SNR&US.NY=__&US.NC=__&US.VA=__" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - This Holarctic species is one of the most northerly nesting ducks, and also a northerly winterer (Palmer 1976). Two populations exist in North America: one winters in the eastern Arctic (Atlantic), the other in the western Arctic (Pacific) (Suydam 2000, Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). Breeding occurs along the Arctic coast and islands from northern Alaska east to Greenland, west coast of Hudson Bay, James Bay, and probably northern Labrador; Banks and Victoria islands are important nesting areas. The species also nests along the Arctic coast from northern Russia east to Chukotski Peninsula and St. Lawrence and St. Matthew Islands. Small numbers nest in northern Finland, Sweden, Norway, and in northern coastal Greenland (Suydam 2000). <br><br>The nonbreeding range in the Pacific extends from from Kamchatka and the Bering Sea south to the Kurile, Aleutian, and Shumagin Islands. In the Atlantic, wintering extends primarily from Labrador and Greenland south to New England (less frequently eastern New York and New Jersey), and uncommonly in interior North America to the Great Lakes.Birds breeding in western Siberia and Scandinavia winter from the White Sea to western Norway and eastern coast of Iceland; small numbers as far south as England and Ireland (Suydam 2000). Casual nonbreeding visitors occur to points south of the normal southern limits of range (AOU 1983).<br><br>Molting areas are poorly documented but presumably are in marine environments. The western arctic population in North America molts primarily in the Bering Sea and to lesser extent in the Chukchi Sea (Sea Duck Joint Venture 2003). A small number may also molt in the eastern Beaufort Sea (Johnson and Herter 1989). Satellite telemetry has identified several key molting sites: off the south and east coasts of the Chukotsk (Chukchi) Peninsula, south of St. Lawrence Island, and northern Bristol Bay (Dickson et al. 1999). The eastern arctic population is known to molt in areas of western Greenland around Disko Bay and in eastern Greenland at Clyde Inlet (Suydam 2000).
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)