A buoyant, large-headed duck that abruptly vanishes and resurfaces as it feeds, the tiny Bufflehead spends winters bobbing in bays, estuaries, reservoirs, and lakes. Male buffleheads often make a loud chattering noise or growl when courting. The head has a large white patch behind eye. Winter is the season when many ducks pick their mate for the year. Males are striking black-and white from a distance.
Strikingly patterned in black and white, and constantly active, it attracts attention out of proportion to its relatively small numbers. While the females tend to the nests and ducklings, the males go off to molt at their summer lakes. Drakes are one of the few birds with a penis, and theirs is a corkscrew-shaped, oversized affair that can be as long as the male.
The images depict two male Bufflehead ducks vying for the attention of one female Bufflehead.
Our featured video gives you a mash-up of some of the best duck mating behaviors from the Cornell Lab’s Macaulay Library.Watch for these behaviors on neighborhood ponds, lakes, and rivers that don’t freeze over. Primarily crustaceans and mollusks in the winter. Males are larger than females. The behavior of the Common Goldeneye has also recently been described by Dane et al.
Also will occasionally eat plant material. Rarely found on land. Unlock thousands of full-length species accounts and hundreds of bird family overviews when you subscribe to Birds of the World. As winter’s chill sets in, ducks are heating things up. Behavior. Unlike most divers, they can fly straight up from a watery takeoff. Each species account is written by leading ornithologists and provides detailed information on bird distribution, migration, habitat, diet, sounds, behavior, breeding, current population status, and conservation. It … Buffleheads mate and breed for the first time during their second year. Filmed with a Canon PowerShot SX20. Behavior. They form pair in winter or spring and, unlike most ducks, are mostly monogamous usually keeping the same mate for several years. Related to the goldeneyes and, like them, nests in cavities; but unlike other hole-nesting ducks, the Bufflehead is small enough to use unmodified old nest holes of Northern Flickers, giving it a ready source of good nest sites. Lots of chasing ensues. Winters on small ponds, lakes, and rivers inland, also in shallow bays and estuaries along the coasts. Female Bufflehead .
Bufflehead Geographic range, habitat, physical characteristics, reproduction, lifespan, behavior, communication, food habits, predation, ecosystem roles, and conservation status. Stragglers migrate south in mid-fall, but the largest numbers move just ahead of freezeup. Photos of a Bufflehead courtship ritual, taken on Puget Sound in Washington. The wings are dark with white patches visible in flight.
Others stay with their brood until they fledge and then fly off to molt. Courtship behavior occurs throughout the year and facilitates seasonal pairing of couples. The shape of a bird's wing is often an indication of its habits and behavior. Wing Shape.
Bucephala albeola.
All content (archived and new) is now at my website: ingridtaylar.com. The Bufflehead Duck Mating Habits . Bufflehead: This small diving duck is mostly white with a glossy green-black to purple-black head and back. Females are a subdued gray-brown with a neat white patch on the cheek. Territorial during the breeding season, actively protecting habitat and their hen. The female expels unwanted sperm from the chambers within her body, leaving only the sperm of consensual mating left to do the fertilizing in 97 percent of matings. Related to the goldeneyes and, like them, nests in cavities; but unlike other hole-nesting ducks, the Bufflehead is small enough to use unmodified old nest holes of Northern Flickers, giving it a ready source of good nest sites. The Bufflehead is the smallest diving or sea duck in North America. A closer look at the head shows glossy green and purple setting off the striking white patch. Stories of the urban and the wild in Seattle and San Francisco. Some females abandon the ducklings at five to six weeks before they are ready to fly, joining the male at the molting site.
A closer look at the head shows glossy green and purple setting off the striking white patch. Prefers small ponds and lakes with surrounding woodland for breeding. Search. and Bufflehead (B. albeola) . A diminutive diver, one of our smallest ducks, often very energetic in its feeding. These beautiful ducks, fly fast with a rapid wing beat and usually close to the water but make no whistling sound in flight. A buoyant, large-headed duck that abruptly vanishes and resurfaces as it feeds, the tiny Bufflehead spends winters bobbing in bays, estuaries, reservoirs, and lakes. (1959) and Lind (1960). The actual mating can be brutal, with three or four males sometimes cooperating to rape a female. Buffleheads generally form a mating pair that stays together during the season and in subsequent seasons. Winter is the season when many ducks pick their mate for the year.