eider

/uy"deuhr/, n.

1. See eider duck.

2. eiderdown.

[1735-45; < Icel aethar (in 18th century spelled aedar), gen. sing. of aethur eider duck, in phrase aedar dunn down of the eider duck; sp. eider < G or Sw]

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Any of several species of large diving ducks (in tribes Mergini and Somateriini) that are heavy and round-bodied, with a humped bill that produces a characteristic sloping profile.

Eiders are the source of eiderdown, feathers that the hen plucks from her breast to line the nest and insulate her eggs. Eiderdown is used as a warm filling for jackets, pillows, quilts, and sleeping bags. Hens are mottled brown, but drakes (males) are boldly patterned, with a green pigment on the head. Eiders live in the cold far north.

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▪ bird

      any of several large sea ducks variously classified as members of the tribe Mergini or placed in a separate tribe Somateriini (family Anatidae, order Anseriformes). Eiders are heavy and round-bodied, with humped bills that produce the bird's characteristic sloping profile. They are the source of eiderdown—down feathers the hen plucks from her breast to line the nest and cover the eggs in her absence. Eiderdown is used as warm filling for jackets, pillows, quilts, and sleeping bags; in Iceland, where the birds are rigidly protected, a pound of down can be harvested from every 35–40 nests without interrupting the breeding cycle. Hens are mottled dark brown, but drakes of the four species are strikingly patterned and show a peculiar green pigment on the head. In the common eider (Somateria mollissima), with four or five races, differing mainly in length and colour of bill, the drake is mostly white above with black crown, belly, and tail. Like all eiders, this species is at home in the far north. It breeds along icy coasts south to The Netherlands and the Gulf of St. Lawrence; it winters at sea south to France, New England, and the Aleutians.

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