CreatureData

Steller's eider

Polysticta stelleri (Pallas, 1769)

VUVulnerablewaterfowl

Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri) is a bird in the waterfowl group, belonging to the family Anatidae and the order Anseriformes. It is a small, migratory bird with a marine habitat, and adults typically weigh about 807 g.

Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri)
Photo: ALAN SCHMIERER · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the steller's eider

The IUCN Red List lists Steller's eider as Vulnerable (VU) in its global assessment, a threatened category.

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
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
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

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the steller's eider as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Germany

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

What is the steller's eider?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.

How is the steller's eider classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAnseriformes
  5. familyAnatidae
  6. genusPolysticta
  7. 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.

LC, Least Concern
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Anatidae

LC, Least Concern
Mute swan (Cygnus olor)

Mute swan

Cygnus olor

Anatidae

CompareSteller's eider vs MallardSteller's eider vs Greylag gooseSteller's eider vs Northern pintailSteller's eider vs Mute swan

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

How much does a steller's eider weigh?

Adults typically weigh about 807 g. Values reported by our sources run from 773 g to 842 g.

Is the steller's eider endangered?

The IUCN Red List category is Vulnerable (VU) in the global assessment, which is a threatened category.

How many eggs does a steller's eider lay?

A clutch has 7 eggs, with 1 clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 26 days.

What kind of animal is the steller's eider?

It is a bird, a waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Its habitat is marine and it is migratory.

Who named Polysticta stelleri?

The scientific name Polysticta stelleri carries the authority (Pallas, 1769).

Is the steller's eider an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the steller's eider as introduced in 1 country: Germany, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/stellers-eider

MLA

“Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/stellers-eider.

BibTeX
@misc{stellers_eider_2026,
  title = {Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/stellers-eider},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}