Common eider

Somateria mollissima

Group: Waterfowl
Size class: Small (under 10 kg)
Family: Anatidae

Range

North America
Europe
Arctic

Habitat

Coast

Range

Countries it is found in

40 countries

Åland Islands
Albania
Austria
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Canada
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Greenland
Iceland
Ireland
Isle of Man
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Monaco

Range from:Wikipedia country bird lists, GBIF occurrence records — read 2026-08-05

Chapter 01

Overview

The common eider (Somateria mollissima), also St Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large sea duck distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breeds in the Arctic and some northern temperate regions and winters somewhat further south, forming large flocks on coastal water. Linnaeus named it in 1758 as Anas mollissima; it now sits with two other species in the genus Somateria, from the Greek sōma, 'body'. Six subspecies are recognised, from S. m. v-nigrum in north-east Asia and Alaska to S. m. borealis in north-east Canada, Greenland and Iceland.

Chapter 02

Identification

The largest of the four eiders: 50 to 71 cm long, weighing 0.81 to 3.04 kg and spanning 80–110 cm across the wings. Twenty-two North Atlantic males averaged 2.21 kg and thirty-two females 1.92 kg. It is distinguished by its bulky shape and its large, wedge-shaped bill — a profile that runs unbroken from the tip of the bill to the crown, and which identifies the bird at range even when colour does not.

Chapter 03

Behaviour

Eiders are colonial breeders, nesting on coastal islands in colonies of anywhere from under 100 to upwards of 15,000 birds. Females frequently show a high degree of natal philopatry, returning to breed on the same island where they hatched. That produces a high degree of relatedness between the birds nesting on one island, and with it the kin-based female social structures the species is known for.

On the table

Meat & cooking

Table grade 4 of 54/5

Sold as meat in a legal market
Has a named traditional dish
Published way to handle and cook it
Eaten in more than one country
No known health advisory

Traditional preparations

Roast eider breast: The breast is the cut, cooked rare; eider is a strongly flavoured sea duck and is usually skinned rather than plucked. Duck as food — Wikipedia

Sources

Sources: Common eider — Wikipedia — read 2026-08-05

Cross-reference