[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

King Eiders occur in the far north of North America and Siberia. While the males of all four species of Eider ducks have some kind of black-and-white pattern on the body, only the male King Eider has a bulbous orange frontal shield. Females are a drab brown so they "blend in" on the nest while they incubate their eggs. In North America King Eiders breed in the high Arctic coastal regions of Canada and Alaska. They winter along the southern coast of Alaska, along the Aleutian Islands, and the eastern coasts of Canada and the US south to New Jersey. This drake King Eider was photographed in a small pond along Gas Well Road in Barrow, Alaska, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: June 1989)

[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This male King Eider was photographed at Jones Beach Island, Jones Beach, New York. Photo taken with a Canon EOS 10D camera (lens unknown). (Date: September 25, 2005)

[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This drake King Eider molting into breeding plumage was photographed at the beach at Higbee Beach in Cape May, New Jersey, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm ED f4.5 lens on Kodachrome 200 film. (Date: October 1982)

[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This young drake King Eider, the second state record for Texas, was photographed resting on the Lighthouse Breakwater, Port Bolivar, Texas, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S f4 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: April 17, 2005)

[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This young drake King Eider, the second state record for Texas, was photographed resting on the Lighthouse Breakwater, Port Bolivar, Texas, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S f4 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: April 17, 2005)

[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This young drake King Eider, the second state record for Texas, was photographed resting on the Lighthouse Breakwater, Port Bolivar, Texas, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S f4 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: April 17, 2005)

[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This young drake King Eider, the second state record for Texas, was photographed resting on the Lighthouse Breakwater, Port Bolivar, Texas, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S f4 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: April 17, 2005)

[Length 22 in. Wingspan 35 in.]

This young drake King Eider, the second state record for Texas, was photographed resting on the Lighthouse Breakwater, Port Bolivar, Texas, USA. Photo taken with a Nikkor 300mm EDAF-S f4 lens + Nikkor TC20E II 2.0x Teleconverter (EFL=900mm) on a Nikon D100 camera. (Date: April 17, 2005)