enlarge + Common Goldeneye, male © Chuck Gordon

Duck-like Birds

Common Goldeneye  Bucephala clangula

Family: Ducks and Geese, Anatidae

Audio: Martyn Stewart, © Naturesound.org

An estimated 83% of the species' North American population breeds within the Boreal Forest.

Description  16-20" (41-51 cm). Male has white body; black back; black-appearing (actually glossy greenish) head; and large, round white spot in front of eye. Eye bright yellow. Female grayish, with warm brown head, white neck ring, and dark bill. Both sexes have a distinctive puffy head shape and a large white wing patch, conspicuous in flight. See Barrow's Goldeneye.

Habitat  Breeds on wooded lakes and ponds; winters mainly on coastal bays and estuaries.

Nesting  8-12 pale green eggs in a mass of down in a natural tree cavity, up to 608 (18 m) above the ground.

Voice  Courtship call of male a high-pitched jeee-ep! Females utter a low quack.

Range  Breeds in Alaska and across Canada to Newfoundland and Maritime Provinces, south to mountains of Montana and Great Lakes. Winters in much of United States, wherever water is open. Also in Eurasia.

Discussion  Among goldeneyes pair formation begins in midwinter, and until then the two sexes often form separate flocks. Indeed, male Common Goldeneyes winter farther north than do the females. During its courtship display, the male stretches his head forward along the water and then snaps it rapidly upward over his back, bill pointed skyward, while uttering a shrill, two-noted call. Then he swings his orange feet forward, sending up a small shower in front of him. The wings of this species produce a loud whistling sound in flight, easily identified even when the birds cannot be seen; hunters call this species the "Whistler." Goldeneyes can dive to depths of 20 feet (6 meters) or more, but generally limit themselves to about 10 feet (3 meters). In winter, goldeneyes feed mainly on mollusks; in summer, their diet shifts to aquatic plants and insects.