King Eider

King Eider (Sometaria spectabilis) are large sea ducks that some revere as the most attractive in the waterfowl world. Adorned below the light blueish-gray crown is a brightly colored orange and yellow frontal lobe making the breeding male’s head look oblong; white eye-ring and line running down towards nape. The drake’s short bill is a reddish orange, conspicuously standing out from the mostly white body. Underneath the eye, there is a watercolor-like green patch that separates from the gray/blue back of the head; black v-shaped chin strap below the lower mandible. The underbelly, lower back, and tail are a striking jet black. Inner scapulars raised into prominently pointed sails; tertials elongated and curved.  The king eider drake’s wings are mostly black with an oval patch of white on the coverts. A white circle in the otherwise black rump tell-tale sign in low lighting. Females do not have the distinctive face that males do, but they have a grayish bill that sharply slopes off the face. The neck is mottled light brown and/or gray while the rest of the body is a warm, almost rufous colored brown. Hen wings are mostly mottled brown like the rest of the plumage, with a few covert feathers being white lined.