Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 03/24/2008 - 08:42

in Mr.k's journal, you said what the male spectacled eiders looked like,  but i wanted to know what the females looked like.  What is the difference between the two? If i was looking at them, how could i tell which was which?

 

jesse aronson

(I also posted the questions about the bearded seals and climate change, the question about how many people can live on the USCGC Healy.)

Craig Kasemodel

Great question - I neglected to describe the females. The females are a mottled brown with faint eye patches. Compared to the males, they are quite plain. Is this an advantage to the species? Why?