Spectacled Eider

Somateria fischeri (Brandt, JF, 1847)

Spectacled Eider, Somateria fischeri, breeds in north-west Alaska and north-east Siberia, with its range extending from the Yukon Delta and Arctic Coastal Plain to the Lena Delta and Chukotka. Outside the breeding season it is found in ice-free waters in the northern Bering Sea between St. Lawrence and St. Matthew islands. It is a sea duck, and the male is notable for the large white patches around the eyes that give the bird its name. The female is brown, while young birds and eclipse males resemble her.

Order

Anseriformes

Family

Anatidae — Ducks, Geese, Swans

Breeding range

North America, Palearctic: nc, ne Siberia from Lena Delta to Chukotka; w, n Alaska in Yukon Delta and Arctic Coastal Plain

Nonbreeding range

polynyas (ice-free seas) between St. Lawrence and St. Matthew is. (n Bering Sea)