It is the only duck species with a white top and black bottom.
The back, throat and chest are white while the belly tail and secondary feathers are black.
Its beak is long and old gold, with a gray colour on the back of its head.
Striking and contrasting colors are found only in male birds.
Females are solid, dark brown.
Immature males show different variations of brown and white. It is a seabird that spreads from the coasts of Europe and North America to eastern Siberia.
It is abundant in the north of Canada.
They grow along the shores of three oceans as well as off the coast of Baffin Island.
They make their nests on the shores of Fundy Bay, St Lawrence Bay and Newfoundland.
As the northern population migrates to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to overwinter, southern population is settled and they spend the winter in their feeding areas. The eider can dive to a depth of 20 meters to reach ocean floor mollusks, invertebrates, and sometimes fish.
In the herd, those in the frontline dive into the water, the rear ones follow them.
They feed intensely for 15-20 minutes and swim and move away from the shore to digest what they eat.
Female eiders have to store food before the feeding period begins.
Because they cannot be fed during courtship and incubation, and they have to rely on their stored fat.