Steller's eider
Polysticta stelleri (Pallas, 1769)
The steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 773 g to 842 g and live up to 14.3 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
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Quick facts about the steller's eider
- Weight
- 773 g – 842 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 14.3 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 23 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 26 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 7src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 2.24 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the steller's eider live?
Not recorded
What is the steller's eider?
Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri) is a migratory Arctic sea duck that breeds along the coastlines of Russia and Alaska, as well as in the Baltic Sea. It is the smallest, and fastest flying of the duck species known as eiders; it is closely related to the other species of eider in the genus Somateria, but sufficiently distinct to be given separate recognition as the only member of the genus Polysticta.
Due to the extensive contraction of its breeding range, the Alaska-breeding population of Steller's eider was listed as vulnerable in 1997 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The species is protected in Estonia, Finland, Norway, Russia and the United States, and is the subject of an ongoing recovery plan by the European Union and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
From the Wikipedia article “Steller's eider” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steller%27s_eider&oldid=1362094827), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the steller's eider endangered?
The steller's eider is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the steller's eider classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusPolysticta
- SpeciesPolysticta stelleri (Pallas, 1769)
Synonyms Anas dispar, Anas occidua, Anas stelleri, Eniconetta stelleri, Fuligula stelleri, Polystica stelleri, Somateria stelleri, Stellaria dispar
Other names and names in other languages (66)
- Stellar's eiderEnglish
- Steller’s eiderEnglish
- Steller’s eiderEnglish
- Western duckEnglish
- عيدر ستيلرArabic
- Гага сібірскаяBelarusian
- Сібірская (Стэлерава) гагаBelarusian
- Стелерова гагаBulgarian
- Eider StellerBreton
- èider de StellerCatalan
- Eùider de StellerCatalan
- kajka bělohlaváCzech
- kajka StellerovaCzech
- Hwyaden fwythblu StellerWelsh
- StellersandDanish
- ScheckenteGerman
- siberia molanasoEsperanto
- Eider chicoSpanish
- Éider de StellerSpanish
- Éider menorSpanish
- kirjuhahkEstonian
- KirjuhaukEstonian
- allihaahkaFinnish
- Høvu?hvít æ?aFaroese
- høvuðhvít æðaFaroese
- Eider de StellerFrench
- Mionlacha lochlannachIrish
- Laagh Loghlynnagh StellerScottish Gaelic
- אדרית שטלרHebrew
- stellerova gavkaCroatian
- sarki réceHungarian
- Steller-pehelyréceHungarian
- BliköndIcelandic
- edredone di StellerItalian
- コケワタガモJapanese
- Сибирь гагаKazakh
- sibirinė gagaLithuanian
- Stellera pūkpīleLatvian
- Stellers eiderDutch
- StellerandNorwegian
- birginiakPolish
- êider-pequenoPortuguese
- eider-de-stellerPortuguese
- êider-de-stellerPortuguese
- Anda giagliaRomansh
- Малая гагаRussian
- сибирская гагаRussian
- Кыра турукаанYakut
- SáivahávdaNorthern Sami
- goargohaŋŋáNorthern Sami
- sávjaáktaNorthern Sami
- SávjahávdaNorthern Sami
- kajka maláSlovak
- ruska gagaSlovenian
- Pisana racaSlovenian
- Štelerova gavkaSerbian
- Štelerova gavka - Штелерова гавкаSerbian
- alförrädareSwedish
- เป็ดสเตลเลอร์Thai
- kara gözlü puflaTurkish
- Kara-gözlü PuflaTurkish
- пухівка малаUkrainian
- Гага СтеллераUkrainian
- Стеллерова гагаUkrainian
- 小絨鴨Chinese
- 小绒鸭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the steller's eider
Other species in the same family Anatidae.
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchos
Greylag goose
Anser anser
Northern pintail
Anas acuta
Mute swan
Cygnus olor
Eurasian teal
Anas crecca
Ruddy shelduck
Tadorna ferruginea
CompareSteller's eider vs MallardSteller's eider vs Greylag gooseSteller's eider vs Northern pintailSteller's eider vs Mute swan
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the steller's eider?
An adult steller's eider weighs 773 g – 842 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the steller's eider endangered?
The steller's eider is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the steller's eider live?
The steller's eider has a recorded lifespan of 14.3 years.
What kind of animal is the steller's eider?
The steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/steller-s-eider
“Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/steller-s-eider.
@misc{steller_s_eider_2026,
title = {Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/steller-s-eider},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}