Eider

Eider
	King and common eider
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Merginae
Genus:	Somateria; Leach, 1819
Type species
	Anas spectabilis (king eider); Linnaeus, 1758
Species
	S. mollissima; S. fischeri; S. spectabilis;
Synonyms
	Eider Jarocki, 1819;

The eiders (/ˈaɪ.dər/) are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.^[2]

The down feathers of eider ducks and some other ducks and geese are used to fill pillows and quilts—they have given the name to the type of quilt known as an eiderdown.^[3] The common eider is the source of true eider down.^[4] In Iceland and other places where the birds are native, traditional farms cultivate a relationship between the sea birds and the farmers, who collect and clean the down for sale.^[4]

Taxonomy

The genus Somateria was introduced in 1819 to accommodate the king eider by the English zoologist William Leach in an appendix to John Ross's account of his voyage to look for the Northwest Passage.^[5]^[6] The name is derived from Ancient Greek σῶμα : sōma "body" (stem somat-) and ἔριον : erion "wool", referring to eiderdown.^[7]

Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri) is in a different genus despite its name.^[8]

Species

The genus contains three extant species.^[8]

Genus *Somateria* – Leach, 1819 – three species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Common eider Male Female	Somateria mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758) Six subspecies S. m. v-nigrum Bonaparte & Gray, GR, 1855 S. m. borealis (Brehm, CL, 1824) S. m. sedentaria Snyder, 1941 S. m. dresseri Sharpe, 1871 S. m. faeroeensis Brehm, CL, 1831 – Faroe Islands S. m. mollissima (Linnaeus, 1758)	northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
King eider Male Female	Somateria spectabilis (Linnaeus, 1758)	northeast Europe, North America and Asia	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Spectacled eider Male Female	Somateria fischeri (Brandt, 1847)	coasts of Alaska and northeastern Siberia.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

Two undescribed species are known from fossils, one from Middle Oligocene rocks in Kazakhstan^[9] and another from the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, United States.^[10] The former may not actually belong in this genus.^{[citation needed]}

Predation

In Iceland, the American mink is a non-native, invasive predator that has cut eider down production by more than half.^[11] The Arctic fox is another predator of ground-nesting birds.^[11]

Folklore

Since the 12th century, the black-and-white common eider has been known as Saint Cuthbert's ducks in parts of Great Britain.^[12]

References

^ Jarocki, F.P. (1819). Spis ptaków w gabinecie zoologicznym Królewsko Warszawskiego Uniwersytetu znayduiących się, a podług naynowszego systemu ustawionych (in Polish). Warszawa: nakł. i drukiem Zawadzkiego i Węckiego Uprzywilejowanych Drukarzy i Księgarzy Dworu Królestwa. p. 62.
^ Kaufman, Kenn (2001). Lives of North American Birds. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 96. ISBN 0-395-77017-3.
^ "BBC Radio 4 - Tweet of the Day, Eider". Bbc.co.uk. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^ ^a ^b Aston, Felicity. "Down on the Eider Farm". Geographical (Geographical Magazine Ltd.), vol. 93, no. 3, Mar. 2021, pp. 53–60.
^ Leach, William Elford (1819). Ross, John (ed.). A Voyage of Discovery made under the orders of the Admiralty in her Majesty's ships Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay, and enquiring into the probability of a North-West passage. London: John Murray. Appendix II, p. 48.
^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 487.
^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 359. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
^ ^a ^b Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
^ Kurochkin, E. N. (1976). "A Survey of the Paleogene Birds of Asia". In Olson, Storrs L. (ed.). Collected papers in avian paleontology honoring the 90th birthday of Alexander Wetmore. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. Vol. 27. pp. 75–86.
^ Olson, Storrs L.; Rasmussen, Pamela C. (2001). "Miocene and Pliocene Birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina.". In Ray, C.E.; Bohaska, D.J. (eds.). Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina III. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. Vol. 90. pp. 233–307.
^ ^a ^b Jónsson, Jón Einar; Rickowski, Fiona S.; Ruland, Florian; Ásgeirsson, Árni; Jeschke, Jonathan M. (December 2023). "Long-term data reveal contrasting impacts of native versus invasive nest predators in Iceland". Ecology Letters. 26 (12): 2066–2076. doi:10.1111/ele.14313. ISSN 1461-023X. PMID 37818595.
^ Minard, Antone (2016). "The Mystery of St Cuthbert's Ducks: An Adventure in Hagiography". Folklore. 127 (3): 325–343. doi:10.1080/0015587X.2016.1203636. ISSN 0015-587X. JSTOR 26445774 – via JSTOR.

Newton, Alfred (1911). "Eider (duck)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 9 (11th ed.). pp. 132–133.

[1] Jarocki, F.P. (1819). Spis ptaków w gabinecie zoologicznym Królewsko Warszawskiego Uniwersytetu znayduiących się, a podług naynowszego systemu ustawionych (in Polish). Warszawa: nakł. i drukiem Zawadzkiego i Węckiego Uprzywilejowanych Drukarzy i Księgarzy Dworu Królestwa. p. 62.

[2] Kaufman, Kenn (2001). Lives of North American Birds. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 96. ISBN 0-395-77017-3.

[3] "BBC Radio 4 - Tweet of the Day, Eider". Bbc.co.uk. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015.

[:1-4] Aston, Felicity. "Down on the Eider Farm". Geographical (Geographical Magazine Ltd.), vol. 93, no. 3, Mar. 2021, pp. 53–60.

[5] Leach, William Elford (1819). Ross, John (ed.). A Voyage of Discovery made under the orders of the Admiralty in her Majesty's ships Isabella and Alexander, for the purpose of exploring Baffin's Bay, and enquiring into the probability of a North-West passage. London: John Murray. Appendix II, p. 48.

[6] Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 487.

[job90-7] Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 359. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.

[ioc-8] Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2021). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". IOC World Bird List Version 11.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

[9] Kurochkin, E. N. (1976). "A Survey of the Paleogene Birds of Asia". In Olson, Storrs L. (ed.). Collected papers in avian paleontology honoring the 90th birthday of Alexander Wetmore. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. Vol. 27. pp. 75–86.

[10] Olson, Storrs L.; Rasmussen, Pamela C. (2001). "Miocene and Pliocene Birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina.". In Ray, C.E.; Bohaska, D.J. (eds.). Geology and Paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina III. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. Vol. 90. pp. 233–307.

[:0-11] Jónsson, Jón Einar; Rickowski, Fiona S.; Ruland, Florian; Ásgeirsson, Árni; Jeschke, Jonathan M. (December 2023). "Long-term data reveal contrasting impacts of native versus invasive nest predators in Iceland". Ecology Letters. 26 (12): 2066–2076. doi:10.1111/ele.14313. ISSN 1461-023X. PMID 37818595.

[12] Minard, Antone (2016). "The Mystery of St Cuthbert's Ducks: An Adventure in Hagiography". Folklore. 127 (3): 325–343. doi:10.1080/0015587X.2016.1203636. ISSN 0015-587X. JSTOR 26445774 – via JSTOR.

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