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Diving ducks frequent large, deep lakes and rivers, as well as coastal bays and inlets. When launching into flight, most of this group patter along the water before becoming airborne. They feed by diving, often to considerable depths. Since their wings are smaller in proportion to the size and weight of their bodies, they have a more rapid wingbeat than puddle ducks.
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Common Goldeneye
Bucephala clangula
At-a-Glance
• Type: Diving Duck
• Incubation: 28-32 days
• Clutch Size: 5-15 eggs
• Young Fledge: 56-60 days after hatching
• Typical foods: aquatic plants, mollusks, fish, and shellfish
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Description
The common goldeneye has a dark back and light underside. Its head is also dark and looks as if it has lump on top of it. This species is larger than the bufflehead. The male has a white spot in front of and below the eye and the female has a white collar below a dark head.
Habitat and Habits
These are active, strong-winged fliers that move singly or in small flocks, often high in the air. A distinctive wing-whistling sound produced in flight has earned this and other species the name of "whistlers." Goldeneyes generally move south late in the season, but most of them winter on coastal waters and the Great Lakes. Inland, they like rapid and fast waters. The drakes have a piercing speer-speer and hens have a low quack, although both are usually quiet.
Reproduction and Care of the Young
One of the hardiest ducks, goldeneyes winter as far north as open water can be found. The males can be seen performing their comical courtship displays as early as February. The nest is a mass of down in a tree cavity high above the ground. |
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