Wildlife and global warming Navigating the Arctic Meltdown
spectacled eiders The spectacled eider is truly a breed apart. A diving duck named for its distinctively “spectacled ” appearance, the eider spends much of the year in places so remote that its wintering grounds were only discovered in 1999, with the help of space-age satellite tracking. With its Am...
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| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.230.8527 http://www.defenders.org/resources/publications/programs_and_policy/science_and_economics/global_warming/navigating_the_arctic_meltdown_spectacled_eider.pdf |
| Summary: | spectacled eiders The spectacled eider is truly a breed apart. A diving duck named for its distinctively “spectacled ” appearance, the eider spends much of the year in places so remote that its wintering grounds were only discovered in 1999, with the help of space-age satellite tracking. With its American population decimated by poisoning from ingesting lead shot, the eider was listed as a threatened species in 1993. Now global warming poses an additional peril to this unique bird, with the potential to alter both the eiders ’ breeding and wintering habitats. A Rare Bird The spectacled eider is a medium-sized sea duck, slightly smaller than a mallard, but with a stockier appearance. Males have a white back, a black breast and belly, a thick orange bill and a green head, offset by large white eye patches bordered in black—the characteristic “spectacles” that give the bird its name. The female is a drab, speckled brown, with less distinct tan spectacles. |
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