Common Goldeneye
Bucephala clangula · Ducks, Geese, and Swans
Banding codeCOGO
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 18.5 in long.
2Color pattern
- Male: black and white with a round white spot near the bill
- Glossy green-black head; golden eye
- Female: brown head, gray body
3Habitat & season
Rivers and reservoirs in winter
In northern Utah: winter.
Seen most often in December, January and February.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
Its wings whistle loudly in flight.
“a whistling 'whew-whew' of wings”
iNat 67564231 by Christoph Moning · 85395 Wolfersdorf, Deutschland · CC BY
Know it
- Its wings make a loud whistle — hunters call it the 'whistler.'
- Nests in tree cavities; ducklings leap to the ground the day after hatching.
- A winter visitor to Utah's rivers and reservoirs.
- Males throw their heads back over their backs in courtship.
Often confused with
- Barrow's Goldeneye
- Bufflehead
From iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek boukephalos, a reference to the bulbous head shape of the bufflehead. The species name is derived from the Latin clangere.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0