Bufflehead - Photos by Bruce Dayton - Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

ORDER: Anseriformes
FAMILY: Anatidae (Ducks and Geese - 52 Species)
SUB-FAMILY: Anatinae
SPECIES: Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Bufflehead
Buffleheads are usually seen in small groups of 10 or less. Many times you may just see the male and the female. They are fast fliers, with a rapid wing beat and are the smallest diving duck native to North America.
SIZE	Buffleheads are a small (13-15") chunky, diving duck (sea ducks).
DESCRIPTION	Adult males have a black head with an iridescent purple/green gloss and a mainly white body with a black back. They have a large white cap behind the eye, which goes completely around the head and makes them very easy to identify. Adult females have a brown head with a smaller white oval patch behind the eye and a mainly brown body. They both have a small gray bill. The male Bufflehead is larger than the female.
NESTING	Clutch size ranges from 6-12 eggs, which are incubated in 28 to 32 days. They nest in cavities in trees, usually holes that have evacuated by Northern flickers. The nests consist of various materials and vegetation, lined with the down from the female. Buffleheads must compete for nesting holes with starlings, bluebirds, squirrels, and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, as well as members of their own species.
RANGE	The vast majority of the population breeds in a wide band of Boreal Forests. They are migratory and most winter in protected coastal waters or open inland waters on the east and west coasts of North America and the southern United States.
HABITAT	Breeding habitat must include suitable nest trees. Nesting habitat usually includes poplar or aspen trees near freshwater permanent ponds or lakes.
DIET	In freshwater habitats they concentrate on aquatic insects including: damselfly and dragonfly larvae, other larvae and amphipods. In saltwater habitats they feed on clams, shrimps, snails, amphipods and small fish. Bufflehead ducklings feed mainly on aquatic insects.

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The images on this web page are copyrighted © 2003 - 2007 by Bruce Dayton. I want to share my photos to promote conservation and to help people identify and learn about the birds and other creatures that live with us on the North American continent. Please do not use any of my work in any non-profit or for-profit project without first getting written permission from me. You can ask for permission by emailing me at webmaster@wildlifeofnorthamerica.info. All reproductions must bear an appropriate credit.




Bufflehead

Union Springs Cayuga County, New York


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Male	Female




Ovenbird Drawing by Louis Agassiz Fuertes