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Common Goldeneye (Male), Ambleside Park, West Vancouver, British Columbia
Photograph by Alan And Elaine Wilson. Some rights reserved. |
Common Goldeneye (Female), Ambleside Park, West Vancouver, British Columbia
Photograph by Alan And Elaine Wilson. Some rights reserved. |
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COMMON GOLDENEYE FACTS
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Description
The Common Goldeneye is a diving duck with large head and stocky body. In the breeding season, the male has a greenish-black head with a white patch on the side of the face at base of the bill. The back, wings and tail are black and the sides and underside are white. The bill is black and eyes are yellow. The female has brown head, gray back, wings and tail, white underside and pale yellow eyes. Non-breeding males are similar to females, with some black on the sides. The wings have a white patch at the base that is visible in flight.
Size
length 40cm - 51cm. Wingspan 77cm - 83cm.
Environment
lakes, rivers, bays, harbors
Food
Aquatic invertebrates, some small fish, plants
Breeding
Makes a nest lined with down in a tree hollow. Lays five to sixteen glossy green eggs.
Range
Breeds in Alaska, Canada, northern United States, northern Europe and northern Asia. Winters in southern Canada, United States, Mexico, also coasts of Europe and Asia.
Classification
| Class: | Aves | | Order: | Anseriformes | | Family: | Anatidae | | Genus: | Bucephala | | Species: | clangula | | Common Name: | Common Goldeneye |
Relatives in same Genus
Bufflehead (B. albeola)
Barrow's Goldeneye (B. islandica)
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