Tufted Duck

Aythya fuligula

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesWetlandScrapeLarge · 701 g

What the Tufted Duck sounds like

Sonogram of the Tufted Duck: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call · Arrondissement de Fougères-Vitré (near Val-Couesnon), Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Tufted Duck: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Flight call · Miniac-Morvan, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Tufted Duck: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by Sonothèque ADVL · Call, song · Miniac-Morvan, Ille-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France · CC0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill with golden yellow eyes, along with a thin crest on the back of the head. It has a prominent tuft on its head, which gives the species its name. The adult female is brown with lighter flanks, and is more easily confused with other diving ducks. In particular, some have white around the base of the bill, resembling the scaup species, although the white is never as extensive as that of those ducks. The female's call is a harsh, growling "karr", usually given in flight.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Tufted Duck

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Tufted Duck

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 109 countries with regular records, and 5 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Chile, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Turkmenistan.

About the Tufted Duck

The tufted duck is a small diving duck with a population of nearly one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. They are partially migratory. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors such as Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin fuligo 'soot' and gula 'throat'. It is a game bird.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Ring-necked Duck vs Tufted Duck · Lesser Scaup vs Tufted Duck · Redhead vs Tufted Duck

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