Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye
Bucephala clangula
Bucephala clangula
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Population, Conservation Status, Threats:
The common goldeneye is considered least concern by the IUCN. They are threatened by habitat loss and degradation of waterways, especially pollution from oil or sewage spills.
Physical Description:
Males are white with black markings on the back, tail. and wings. Their heads are an iridescent black-green with a subtle crest. Females are overall a mottled gray, with a red-brown head and with a subtle crest. Both sexes possess stunningly bright yellow eyes, giving them their name. Their wings whistle in flight.
Overall common goldeneye range from audobon.org. The breeding season is spent in Canada, and common goldeneye can be seen in Colorado in the winters.
Habitat:
While common goldeneyes require tall hollow trees for nesting, outside of the breeding season, they spend much of their time on open water. Their legs are short and poorly adapted to walking. Can be found in both freshwater and marine environments, and often winter along the coasts.
Behavior:
Goldeneyes are aggressive ducks which tend not to mingle with other species of waterfowl. When feeding, they often synchronize their dives to better corral prey. They spend much of their time on the water, in same-species flocks of varying sizes.
Diet:
Common goldeneyes primarily feed on aquatic invertebrates and small fish - plant matter makes up a small portion of their diet. They primarily forage underwater, and can dive for up to a minute at a time.
Reproduction:
Males aggressively compete for females attention and to defend territory during the breeding season. Females lay between five and seventeen pale green eggs per clutch, and incubation time lasts just under a month. Common goldeneyes nest in tree cavities, sometimes up to sixty feet above the ground, and where access to suitable trees is limited, competition can be fierce. Just one or two days after the young have hatched, they will jump out of the nest to join their mother on the water. They fledge at roughly seven weeks.
Associated Species:
Closely related to, and can be mistaken for, Barrow's goldeneye - though Barrow's' range is restricted more to the pacific northwest and small areas of northeastern coastline, both species have been known to winter in Colorado. Also frequently mistaken for buffleheads. Predates upon numerous crustaceans including blue mussel.
Illustration by Willow Sedam
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