Data Zone
Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: http://www.aerc.eu/DOCS/Bird_taxa_of_the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S. and Simmons, K.E.L. (eds). 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Near Threatened | A4abcde |
| 2016 | Near Threatened | A4abcde |
| 2015 | Near Threatened | A4abcde |
| 2012 | Least Concern | |
| 2009 | Least Concern | |
| 2008 | Least Concern | |
| 2004 | Least Concern | |
| 2000 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1994 | Lower Risk/Least Concern | |
| 1988 | Lower Risk/Least Concern |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | does not normally occur in forest |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 59,900,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 69,200,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | unknown | poor | estimated | 2012 |
| Population trend | unknown | - | - | 1995-2022 |
| Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods) | 20-29% | - | - | - |
| Generation length | 9 years | - | - | - |
Population justification:
The global population is estimated to number c. 3,300,000-4,000,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2012), which equates to 1,580,000-1,910,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015). The European population is estimated at 791,000-955,000 pairs.
Trend justification: In Europe the population size is currently declining overall at a rate of >40% over three generations (27 years) (BirdLife International 2015). A decline has been evident since the late 1990s in the largest flyway population of S. m. mollissima in the Baltic and Wadden Seas, based both on breeding data (Ekroos et al. 2012) and on midwinter counts conducted as part of the International Waterbird Census (Nagy et al. 2014). Rapid declines have been reported for the islands of Gotland (from 7,140 nesting females in 2007 to 1,310 in 2015) and Öland in the Baltic Sea (K. Larsson in litt. 2015). Europe (including Greenland) holds >60% of the global population (Wetlands International 2012), so the declines in Europe are globally significant.
The remainder of the population occurs in North America where population trends are variable. The Pacific population, S. m. v-nigra, which represents c. 4% of the global population is thought to have declined in the northern parts of its range between the 1980s and early 2000s, while in central Arctic Canada and north-west Alaska it has declined, however, it appears to be increasing in the rest of Alaska (Bowman et al. 2015). The American population, S. m. dresseri, (c. 9% of the global population) shows variable trends with the northern population increasing and southern population decreasing. Trends are uncertain for the Hudson Bay, S. m. sedentaria, (c. 6% of the global population) and Northern, S. m. borealis, (c. 16% of the global population) populations. Given the strong declines in the European population and a lack of compensatory increases in the North American population the overall population trend is thought to be declining moderately rapidly.
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belarus | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belgium | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Canada | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Croatia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Czechia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Denmark | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Estonia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Finland | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Georgia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Germany | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Greece | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Greenland (to Denmark) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Hungary | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Iceland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Ireland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Israel | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Italy | extant | native | yes | |||
| Japan | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Latvia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Liechtenstein | extant | native | ||||
| Lithuania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Luxembourg | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Montenegro | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Netherlands | extant | native | yes | |||
| North Macedonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Norway | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Poland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Portugal | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Romania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (Asian) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (Central Asian) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Serbia | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Slovakia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Slovenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | |||
| St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands (to Norway) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Sweden | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Switzerland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Türkiye | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Ukraine | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| United Kingdom | extant | native | yes | |||
| USA | extant | native | yes |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Coastal Freshwater Lakes | suitable | breeding |
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | Sea Cliffs and Rocky Offshore Islands | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Rocky Shoreline | major | breeding |
| Marine Intertidal | Tidepools | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Macroalgal/Kelp | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Pelagic | marginal | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Seagrass (Submerged) | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Loose Rock/pebble/gravel | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Rock and Rocky Reefs | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy | major | breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | non-breeding |
| Marine Neritic | Subtidal Sandy-Mud | major | breeding |
| Altitude | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Threat (level 1) | Threat (level 2) | Impact and Stresses | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Marine & freshwater aquaculture - Industrial aquaculture | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Causing/Could cause fluctuations | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest] | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Biological resource use | Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target) | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Climate change & severe weather | Habitat shifting & alteration | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Whole (>90%) | Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
|
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| Energy production & mining | Mining & quarrying | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Human intrusions & disturbance | Recreational activities | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Neovison vison | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Low Impact: 3 | ||||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Vulpes lagopus | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases - Haliaeetus albicilla | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Problematic native species/diseases - Pasteurella multocida | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Future | Majority (50-90%) | Rapid Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases | Viral/prion-induced diseases - Unspecified species | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Slow, Significant Declines | Low Impact: 5 | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Garbage & solid waste | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Minority (<50%) | Negligible declines | Low Impact: 4 | ||||||
|
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| Pollution | Industrial & military effluents - Oil spills | Timing | Scope | Severity | Impact | ||||
| Ongoing | Majority (50-90%) | Causing/Could cause fluctuations | Medium Impact: 6 | ||||||
|
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| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | international |
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | international |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | subsistence, national |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Common Eider Somateria mollissima. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/common-eider-somateria-mollissima on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.