| Species fact sheet | by Global Register of Migratory Species - www.groms.de |
| Use the GROMS database for dynamic search for migratory species, new links and references. |
| Polysticta stelleri | (Pallas, 1769) |
| Synonym: | |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| English: | Steller's eider |
| French: | Eider de Steller |
| Spanish: | Eider menor |
| German: | Scheckente (There's a German version of this page!) |
| Norwegian: | Stellerand (There's a Norwegian version of this page!) |
| Migration: | intercontinental |
| Regions: | Europe, North Africa, North America, North Asia, South & Southeast Asia |
“Steller's eiders may have historically numbered 400,000-500,000 individuals worldwide. Current estimates are 150,000 to 200,000, and most of these birds nest in Russia and winter in Alaska. In North America, Steller's eiders no longer nest in their historical breeding range (Western Alaska/ Eastern North Slope), but are restricted to northern Alaska. Causes for the decline worldwide are not known. Steller's eiders often feed in large, dense rafts, particularly during flightless moult period, in sheltered bays and lagoons. Therefore, an oil spill could adversely affect a large portion of the population. The current breeding range in northern Alaska is largely contained within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), which was set aside for oil and gas resource development. The Alaskan Steller's eider breeding population was classified as "Threatened" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (www.fws.gov). In spite of the decline of the Asian population, the species has been removed from the International Red List 2000 because the European and Alaskan wintering populations are considered to be stable (BirdLife International 2000).”
Riede, K. (2001): Global Register of Migratory Species. Weltregister wandernder Tierarten. Münster (Landwirtschaftsverlag), p. 213
Further detailed information from the GROMS-database
Recommended link(s):
| ARKive | Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri): description, pictures, movies... |
| www.birdguides.com | |
| Audubon | |
| eNature | |
| www.wildlife.alaska.gov | Alaska Departement of Fish and Game Home Page |
| www.fws.gov | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
| USGS | U.S. Geological Survey - "Taxon: Steller's Eider, Polysticta stelleri" |
| USGS | U.S. Geological Survey - "Species, Age and Sex Identification of Ducks Using Wing Plumage: Steller's Eider" |
| CORNELL LAB oƒ ORNITHOLOGY | |
| The Icelandic Birding Pages | Steller's Eiders in Iceland (in English) |
| whatBird.com | |
| BirdLife international | |
To gather more information about birds in general see the link collection at connotea.org: aves
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Feedback: mail to: Klaus Riede
by Ansgar Tappenhölter