Eider

The Eider is an interesting bird that lives by the water. It loves to swim!

What the Eider looks like

The Eider is a large duck that weighs as much as two large milk cartons! There are Eider-boys who have very bright and beautiful plumage: white, black, even a little pink and green. And Eider-girls are grey and modest, to hide well among rocks and grass.

The Eider has a long, thin beak that is perfect for catching fish. Her eyes are red in colour, which makes her particularly mysterious.

Where the Eider lives

This bird prefers the seas and oceans. It usually lives in the north, in cold waters. Eider is not afraid of the cold! It often gathers with its Eider friends in large groups and builds nests on rocks. In Iceland, Eiders make real duck towns!

What it eats

The Eider likes to eat shells and small sea animals. She can dive and search for food at the bottom of the sea. Sometimes Eider can dive very deep, deeper than the height of five adults standing on top of each other! When Eider is getting ready to be a mum, she also likes to eat grass, berries and seeds.

Baby Eider

When it's time to become mum and dad, Eider looks for a mate. Interestingly, when Eider finds each other, they become friends for life!

After an Eider has chosen each other, they begin to build a nest. Eiders have a rather interesting characteristic: they don't build their nests in trees or on the ground. Instead, they look for small hiding places among rocks or in caves.

The nest is built of grass, twigs and other materials where the birds will wait for their babies to emerge. Soon the eggs appear in the nest. The Eider mum sits on them to keep them warm, and the dad helps her by bringing food and protecting them from other birds or animals.

After a while, little fluffy Eiders hatch out of the eggs. They are very cute! In the beginning they can't fly, so the parents feed and take care of them. But over time, the babies get bigger and start learning to fly and then to swim.

Interesting facts

Eider down is very warm. People collect it to make warm clothes for those who work in cold places like the Arctic. So Eider helps people to stay warm.

That is such an interesting and useful duck - the Eider. So if you ever see a bird that swims well, dives for fish and has red eyes - know it's an Eider!