The
Bufflehead (
Bucephala albeola) is a small American sea duck of the genus
BucephalaGoldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life....
, the
goldeneyesGoldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life....
. This species was first described by
LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature...
in his
Systema naturae in 1758 as
Anas albeola.
The Bufflehead ranges from 32-40 cm long (12.5-16 inches) and 270-550 g (.6-1.2 lbs), with the drakes larger than the females. Averaging 35.5 cm (14 in) and 370 g (13 oz), it rivals the
Green-winged TealThe Green-winged Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered conspecific with the Common Teal The Green-winged Teal (GWT, Anas carolinensis) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in the northern...
as the smallest
AmericanThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
duck.
Adult males have a glossy, greenish-black head with a large white cap behind the eye and a mainly white body with a black back.
The
Bufflehead (
Bucephala albeola) is a small American sea duck of the genus
BucephalaGoldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life....
, the
goldeneyesGoldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life....
. This species was first described by
LinnaeusCarl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature...
in his
Systema naturae in 1758 as
Anas albeola.
Description
The Bufflehead ranges from 32-40 cm long (12.5-16 inches) and 270-550 g (.6-1.2 lbs), with the drakes larger than the females. Averaging 35.5 cm (14 in) and 370 g (13 oz), it rivals the
Green-winged TealThe Green-winged Teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered conspecific with the Common Teal The Green-winged Teal (GWT, Anas carolinensis) is a common and widespread duck which breeds in the northern...
as the smallest
AmericanThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
duck.
Adult males have a glossy, greenish-black head with a large white cap behind the eye and a mainly white body with a black back. Adult females have a brown head with a smaller white patch behind the eye and a mainly brown body with a light underside.
The name
Bufflehead is a combination of
buffaloThe American Bison is a North American species of bison, also commonly known as the American Buffalo. "Buffalo" is somewhat of a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffaloes", the Asian Buffalo and the African Buffalo...
and
headIn anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth...
, referring to the oddly bulbous head shape of the species. This is most noticeable when the male puffs out the feathers on the head, thus greatly increasing the apparent size of the head.
Distribution and habitat
They are
migratoryBird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
and most of them winter in protected coastal waters, or open inland waters, on the east and west coasts of
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
and the southern
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Bufflehead is an extremely rare vagrant to western
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes and ponds in
AlaskaAlaska is the largest state of the United States of America by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, almost entirely included in the boreal forest or
taigaTaiga is a biome characterized by coniferous forests. Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway, Highland Scotland and Russia , as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States , northern...
habitat.
Behavior
Buffleheads do not tend to collect in huge flocks; groups are usually limited to small numbers (less than 10). One duck will serve as a sentry, watching for predators as the others in the group dive in search of food. Predators of adults include
Peregrine FalconThe Peregrine Falcon , also known simply as the Peregrine, and historically as the "Duck Hawk" in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey in the family Falconidae. It is a large, crow-sized falcon, with a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...
(
Falco peregrinus),
Snowy OwlThe Snowy Owl is a large owl of the typical owl family Strigidae. The Snowy Owl was first classified in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish naturalist who developed binomial nomenclature to classify and organize plants and animals. The bird is also known in North America as the Arctic Owl or the...
(
Bubo scandiacus),
Bald EagleThe Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America that is most recognizable as the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the...
(
Haliaeetus leucocephalus),
Great Horned OwlThe Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.The Magellanic Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an...
(
Bubo virginianus) and
Cooper's HawkCooper's Hawk is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from Canada to Mexico. As in many birds of prey, the male is smaller than the female...
(
Accipiter cooperii). Females may be killed on the nest by mammals, such as
weaselWeasels are mammals in the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family.Originally, the name "weasel" was applied to one species of the genus, the European form of the Least Weasel...
s (
Mustela spp.) or
minkThere are two living species referred to as "mink": the American Mink and the European Mink. The extinct Sea Mink is related to the American Mink, but was much larger. All three species are dark-colored, semi-aquatic, carnivorous mammals of the family Mustelidae, which also includes the weasels...
(
Mustela vison), and by
GoldeneyesGoldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life....
over nest competition.
Breeding
They nest in cavities in trees, often using old
FlickerThe Northern Flicker is a medium-sized member of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, is one of the few woodpecker species that migrates, and is the only woodpecker that commonly feeds on the ground. There are over 100...
or
Pileated WoodpeckerThe Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker that is quite common in its range.-Description:Adults are mainly black with a red crest and a white line down the sides of the throat. Adult males have a red line from the bill to the throat and red on the front of the crown...
nests, occasionally 425 m (1400 ft) from water. Nest competitors include
Mountain BluebirdThe Mountain Bluebird is a medium-sized bird weighing about an ounce, with a length from 15-20 cm . They have light underbellies and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills. They are bright blue and somewhat lighter beneath...
(
Sialia currucoides),
Tree SwallowThe Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, is a migratory passerine bird that breeds in North America and winters in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe....
(
Tachycineta bicolor),
Northern FlickerThe Northern Flicker is a medium-sized member of the woodpecker family. It is native to most of North America, parts of Central America, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, is one of the few woodpecker species that migrates, and is the only woodpecker that commonly feeds on the ground. There are over 100...
, and
European StarlingThe European Starling, Common Starling or just Starling is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...
. There was one recorded instance of a female
Barrow's Goldeneyethumb|left|MaleBarrow's Goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This bird was named after Sir John Barrow....
killing a Bufflehead adult female and her brood. Smaller cavities are preferred because of less competition with the larger
GoldeneyesGoldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life....
.
A clutch may range from 5 to 10 eggs. Eggs are typically about 36.3 mm (1.4 in) in breadth and 50.6 mm (2 in) in length, weighing about 37.4 g (1.3 oz) on average. The incubation period ranges from 28 to 33 days, during which the female is quite attentive. Locally, the clutch survival rate may range from 45% to 5% based on factors like cold weather, rain, competitors (i.e.
grebeA grebe is a member of the Podicipediformes order, a widely distributed order of freshwater diving birds, some of which visit the sea when migrating and in winter...
s or other
duckDuck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks...
s) or predators (like
Northern PikeThe northern pike , Esox lucius, is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...
). The female abandons the nest after 5 to 6 weeks, and the young fledge at 45 to 55 days of age.
Diet
These diving birds forage underwater. They prefer water depths of 1.2-4.5 m (4 to 15 ft). In freshwater habitats they eat primarily
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s, and in saltwater they feed predominantly on
crustaceanCrustaceans are a very large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles...
s and mollusks. Aquatic
plantPlants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants,...
s and
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
eggs can often become locally important food items as well.
Relationship with humans
Habitat degradation is now the major threat to this bird, since they almost always return to their hatch site to breed. Although Buffleheads do use man-made nest boxes, they still need the forest habitat in order to thrive.
External links