This medium-sized sea duck get its name from the distinctive patch of feathering around the eye, creating a pair of pale goggles. The entire base of the bill is feathered down to the nostrils. Male: Black underparts and flight feathers, white back. The head is greenish with bold white spectacles bordered in black. The exposed end of the bill is orange. Males in alternate plumage are dark brown overall with a grayish cast and paler tan spectacles. Female: Brown overall with bold dark barring. Dark forehead contrasts with pale spectacles. The bill is dark gray. In flight, axillaries are pale gray, not white as on female King Eider.

Length: 51 (cm) Wingspan: 89 (cm)

Habitat:

Coastal marshes and open ocean.

Behavior:

They line their nest with their own down feathers.

Feeding:

On breeding grounds, dabbles for aquatic invertebrates. At sea, dives for mollusks and crustaceans.