Eider

This article is about the seaducks. For the river, see Eider (river). For other uses, see Eider (disambiguation).

Eiders
King Eider in breeding plumage
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Merginae
Genus:	Somateria Leach, 1819
Species
S. mollissima S. fischeri S. spectabilis

Eiders are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. Steller's Eider, Polysticta stelleri, is in a different genus despite its name.

The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern hemisphere.

The down feathers of eider ducks, and some other ducks and geese, are used to fill pillows and quilts—they have given the name to the type of quilt known as an eiderdown.

Species

• Common Eider Somateria mollissima
• King Eider Somateria spectabilis
• Spectacled Eider Somateria fischeri

Two undescribed species are known from fossils, one from Middle Oligocene rocks in Kazakhstan and another from the Late Miocene or Early Pliocene of Lee Creek Mine, USA. The former may not actually belong into this genus.