Bird of the Week: Tufted Duck

Larry Kent, one of our great NSAS birders, found a male Tufted Duck at Milton Road’s Pond 8 on February 19th. The bird came and went a number of times, but still remains on Pond 8 on most days. A spotting scope would be helpful in locating this bird in the flocks of ducks on Pond 8. It has been associating with the Scaup and Canvasback flocks out on the pond which is located near the South end of Milton Road across the street from 1794 Milton Road accessed behind the bright yellow gates trail that leads to the top of the levee at this GPS Point: 38.200041, -122.316012 . Male Tufted Ducks in breeding plumage have a rounded black head, jet black back and breast, contrasting sharply with their bright white flanks, that have a distinctive sculpted, rounded shape near the rear, and pointed angular shape at the shoulder somewhat reminiscent of a Ring-necked Duck. The white flanks are slightly higher at both the shoulder and rear giving the flank pattern a distinctive curved and sculpted shape.  They have a long black tuft that at times can be raised and trailing like a kite in the breeze or tucked in neatly at the back of the head and invisible except at close range. Tufted Ducks have a light-blue bill with a thin white band behind a black tip and bright yellow eye. The Females have a similar design to their flanks but with dark brown tones on the head, back and breast and pale-gray-brown flanks, and a much shorter tuft. Tufted Ducks (Aythya fuligula) are closely related to Scaups (Aythya marila and Aythya affinis) that they often associate with when they visit the U.S. as well as Ring-neck Ducks (Aythya collaris) which they resemble. They are slightly smaller and lighter than scaups and as a result seem to float through the water and throughout the flock at a faster speed.

Tufted Ducks feed on “seeds and green parts of aquatic plants, molluscs, (often a major item in diet, both on inland and in coastal waters), as well as crustaceans, crayfish and aquatic insects.”  They typically breed in Northern Europe and Asia and winter in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia south of their breeding grounds. For more information see Cornell’s Birds of the World located at: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/yebloo/cur/introduction .