HUNTING HORIZONS - Worldwide Hunting Seasons Database

The Common Eider [Somateria mollissima] is distributed with large populations on the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in Arctic and some northern temperate regions, wintering somewhat farther south in temperate zones, forming large flocks on coastal waters.
A large sea-duck characterized by its bulky shape and large sloping wedge-shaped bill:
LENGTH: 50-71 cm WEIGHT: 1300-2800 g WINGSPAN: 80-108 cm
MALE: The male has bold black and white plumage, green nape and pinkish breast.
FEMALE: The female is a rich brown bird.
JUVENILE: Immature males display various combinations of brown and white.
HABITAT: Common Eiders are gregarious, often readily approachable, live on coasts, sheltered bays and estuaries but very rare inland. In cold weather they group together so closely that they cannot even be counted. They nest on coastal islands in colonies of up to 15,000 individuals.
FEEDING: They are sea ducks, diving up to 20 m deep to search the ocean floor for molluscs, crabs, other invertebrates and occasionally fish.
CALL: This duck's call is a pleasant 'ah-ooo', however during the mating season, male common eiders court females with long, lonely calls that can sound eerie when heard in a colony of several thousand birds.
FLIGHT: They travel in compact flocks of a few to thousands, flying low to the water and travelling at speeds of 60 to 70 km per hour.
MIGRATION: Eiders undertake a moulting migration after females begin incubating their eggs, males move north to a different area to moult. Female eiders also moult, but only after the breeding season. As a result of their extra migration, males reach their wintering grounds later than females and juvenile ducks.