Where is the common eider native to? An introduction to its main producing regions

The common eider is the largest sea duck, and some have migratory behavior. Like other eiders, this species is native to the far north. It breeds on icy coasts, as far south as the Netherlands and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; it winters in waters as far south as France, New England and the Aleutian Islands.

Throughout the year, the common eider feeds on invertebrates such as mollusks, worms, and crustaceans. It obtains most of its food from the seabed, so it likes to swim back and forth in shallow waters along the edges of continents.

Native to Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The common eider is distributed around the Arctic and has 6 subspecies in total, differing mainly in the length and color of the bill. Males vary in color type, and all have a distinctive green hue on the head. Those distributed in Alaska, northeastern Siberia, and northwestern Canada belong to the Pacific eider, which can be distinguished from other types by three features: its large body, the shape of its bill, and the “V”-shaped mark on the male's throat. The male's upperparts are mainly white, with the crown, belly and tail black. The body is large and round, and the bill has a hump. Most of the female eider's body is brown, and the female duck somewhat resembles a shelduck.