Size: Length; 71cm. Weight; up to 2200g.

Habitat and distribution: North-west Europe. Marine, rocky coasts and estuaries, also inland pools or rivers.

Age: Up to 23.

Breeding: Breed in colonies, nest in slight hollows lined with down. Lay up to 8 eggs which are incubated for approximately 28 days. Female Eiders team up and share the work of rearing ducklings.

Diet: Molluscs, crustaceans, other marine invertebrates, occasionally fish. Will also take berries, seeds and algae.

• Down (the soft under-feathers) from these birds is still harvested at the end of their breeding season for use in pillows and quilts. The down is collected after nesting, with no contact or harm to the birds.
• The Eider Duck is the heaviest duck that occurs in the UK, and the fastest flying.
• They are a type of sea duck, and can dive up to 20 meters down in search of food.
• One of the 147 species of the Anatidae family, which are all ducks, geese and swans, more commonly known as wildfowl or waterfowl.
• Waterfowl bodies are adapted for a highly aquatic life, with webbed feet for swimming and a body shaped to improve buoyancy in the water and a thick covering of feathers for insulation. Different species specialise to fill different niches.  
• All species have an oil-gland which is used whilst preening to maintain waterproofing of their feathers; the oil-gland is highly developed in this family.
• All species have salt glands above each eye, which filter the blood and excrete excess salt.
• Wildfowl have had a long association with humans; the Mallard is the direct ancestor of almost all current breeds of domestic duck. Humans utilise this family for meat, eggs, and feathers and in some countries they are even kept around houses to control insect numbers.