Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)

Tufted Duck (Male), Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, Ladner, British Columbia
Photograph by Alan And Elaine Wilson. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

TUFTED DUCK FACTS

Description
The adult male Tufted Duck is all black with white sides and a blue gray bill, and a tuft on the head. The eye is bright yellow. The female is brown with paler brown sides. Tufted ducks are diving ducks, and search for food underwater amongst water weed and under stones.

Size
Length: 40 – 47 cm

Environment
marshes, lakes, ponds, coastal lagoons, shore. Prefers areas with some dense vegetation for nesting.

Food
molluscs, aquatic insects, aquatic plants.

Breeding
The nest is built in thick cover, often on an island. The nest is lined with down. The female lays eight to eleven eggs which hatch after about 25 days. The young leave the nest after about 50 days.

Range
The Tufted Duck breeds throughout temperate and northern Europe and Asia. It is an occasional winter visitor to coasts of the United States and Canada.

Classification

Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Aythya
Species:	fuligula
Common Name:	Tufted Duck

Relatives in same Genus
  Lesser Scaup (A. affinis)
  Redhead (A. americana)
  Ring-necked Duck (A. collaris)
  Greater Scaup (A. marila)
  Canvasback (A. valisineria)

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