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Common Goldeneye
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| Common Goldeneye, male
©
Chuck Gordon Courtesy of eNature |
Species
description provided by eNature
Description
16-20" (41-51 cm). Male has white body; black back; black-appearing
(actually glossy greenish) head; and large, round white spot in
front of eye. Eye bright yellow. Female grayish, with warm brown
head, white neck ring, and dark bill. Both sexes have a distinctive
puffy head shape and a large white wing patch, conspicuous in flight.
See Barrow's goldeneye.
Voice
Courtship call of male a high-pitched jeee-ep! Females utter a low
quack.
Habitat
Breeds on wooded lakes and ponds; winters mainly on coastal
bays and estuaries.
Nesting
8-12 pale green eggs in a mass of down in a natural tree cavity,
up to 608 (18 m) above the ground.
Range
Breeds in Alaska and across Canada to Newfoundland and Maritime
Provinces, south to mountains of Montana and Great Lakes. Winters
in much of United States, wherever water is open. Also in Eurasia.
Discussion
Among goldeneyes, pair formation begins in midwinter, and until
then the two sexes often form separate flocks. Indeed, male common
goldeneyes winter farther north than do the females. During its
courtship display, the male stretches his head forward along the
water and then snaps it rapidly upward over his back, bill pointed
skyward, while uttering a shrill, two-noted call. Then he swings
his orange feet forward, sending up a small shower in front of him.
The wings of this species produce a loud whistling sound in flight,
easily identified even when the birds cannot be seen; hunters call
this species the "Whistler." Goldeneyes can dive to depths
of 20 feet (6 meters) or more, but generally limit themselves to
about 10 feet (3 meters). In winter, goldeneyes feed mainly on mollusks;
in summer, their diet shifts to aquatic plants and insects.
