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Female King Eider at
Stoney Creek, Ontario |
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Female King Eider on
Lake Ontario at Millen Road, Stoney Creek, east of Hamilton on 8
December 2013 |
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Same female King Eider
on Lake Ontario at Stoney Creek, Ontario on 8 December 2013. There
is a female Common Eider close by at Fifty Point allowing close
comparison of the two species. Identification of female Common and
King Eiders can be tricky. A good way to tell these eiders apart is
to study the shape of
the bill, position of the nostrils and facial feathering. |
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This illustration is from The Birds
of Canada by W. Earl Godfrey (1986). It shows the position of
the feathering on the bill relative to the position of the nostril.
On (a) King Eider female the feathering does not reach the nostril.
On (b) Common Eider female the feathering extends to below the
nostril. |
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Link to female
borealis Common Eider nearby on Lake Ontario at Fifty
Point, Ontario |
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