Home › All birds › Common eider

The Common eider (Somateria mollissima) is a bird found in United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Netherlands, and 2 more countries. Cold northern coasts of Europe, North America and Siberia. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fish and fruit. The IUCN Red List lists it as Near Threatened.

🏡 Where the Common eider lives

Cold northern coasts of Europe, North America and Siberia.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs70%
• 🐟 Fish10%
• 🍎 Fruit10%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Common eider

Recorded by Tim de Boer (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC321242. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common eider

Where does the Common eider live?

The Common eider lives in United States, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Netherlands, and 2 more countries. Cold northern coasts of Europe, North America and Siberia.

What does the Common eider eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), fish (about 10%), fruit (about 10%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common eider endangered?

Not in danger yet, but it could be soon. Its IUCN Red List category is Near Threatened.

More birds from Europe

• Eurasian oystercatcher
• Western marsh harrier
• Eurasian sparrowhawk
• Gadwall
• European pied flycatcher
• Wood sandpiper

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.