Bufflehead

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Species of bird

title: "Bufflehead" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bucephala-(bird)", "native-birds-of-alaska", "birds-of-canada", "native-birds-of-the-northwestern-united-states", "birds-described-in-1758", "animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus"] description: "Species of bird" topic_path: "geography/canada" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufflehead" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of bird ::

| name = Bufflehead | image = Drake_Bufflehead_LBI_(cropped).png | image_caption = Male | image2 = Bucephala-albeola-010.jpg | image2_caption = Female | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = | genus = Bucephala | species = albeola | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonyms =

  • Anas albeola Linnaeus, 1758
  • Charitonetta albeola (Linnaeus, 1758) | range_map = Bucephala albeola map.svg | range_map_caption =

The bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is a small sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Anas albeola.

Taxonomy

The bufflehead was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas albeola. Linnaeus based his account on the "little black and white duck" that had been described in 1747 by the English naturalist George Edwards in the second volume of his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Edwards examined a specimen from Newfoundland provided by the archivist George Holmes (archivist), the deputy Keeper of Records in the Tower of London. Linnaeus specified the type locality as America, but this has been restricted to Newfoundland following Edwards. The bufflehead is now placed with two goldeneye species in the genus Bucephala that was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek grc, , from grc , and grc, , a reference to the oddly bulbous head shape of the species. The species name albeola is a diminutive of Latin albus meaning .

The modern species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The extinct subspecies Bucephala albeola fossilis from the Late Pleistocene of California was originally described as a distinct extinct species, but is now considered to belong within the Bufflehead.

Description

The bufflehead ranges from 32 – long and weighs 270 –, with the drakes larger than the females. Averaging 35.5 cm and 370 g, it rivals the green-winged teal as the smallest American duck. The bufflehead has a wingspan of 21.6 in (55 cm).

Adult males are striking black and white, with iridescent green and purple heads and a large white patch behind the eye. Females are grey-toned with a smaller white patch behind the eye and a light underside.

Distribution and habitat

They are migratory and most of them winter in protected coastal waters, or open inland waters, on the east and west coasts of North America and the southern United States. They can also be observed wintering on the Great Lakes. The bufflehead is an extremely rare vagrant to western Europe. Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes and ponds in Alaska and Canada, almost entirely included in the boreal forest or taiga habitat. From 1966 – 2015, the bufflehead experienced a 1.5% yearly population increase throughout its breeding range.

Behavior

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Bucephala_albeola_-San_Luis_Obispo,_California,USA-flying-8.jpg" caption="Male flying in California"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Bucephala_albeola_MHNT.ZOO.2010.11.17.1.jpg" caption="''Bucephala albeola'' - [[MHNT"] ::

Buffleheads have evolved their small size to fit the nesting cavity of their "metabiotic" host, a woodpecker, the northern flicker. Due to their small size, they are highly active, undertaking dives almost continuously while sustained by their high metabolism. They do not tend to collect in large flocks; groups are usually limited to small numbers. One duck serves as a sentry, watching for predators as the others in the group dive in search of food. Buffleheads are amongst the last waterfowl to leave their breeding grounds and one of the world's most punctual migrants, arriving on their wintering grounds within a narrow margin of time.

Breeding

Buffleheads are monogamous ducks. close (usually

Average clutch size is nine (range six to 11), and eggs average 50.5 by. Predators of adults include the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), and Cooper's hawk (Astur cooperii).

Diet

These diving birds forage underwater. They prefer water depths of 1.2 -. In freshwater habitats, they eat primarily insects, and in saltwater, they feed predominantly on crustaceans and mollusks. Aquatic plants and fish eggs can often become locally important food items, as well.

Relationship with humans

Because of their striking plumage, highly active nature, and proximity to humans on waterfront properties, buffleheads are one of the most popular birds amongst bird watchers. Buffleheads are hunted and are considered a gamebird. In contrast to many other seaducks that have declined in recent decades, bufflehead numbers have remained relatively constant.

References

References

  1. BirdLife International. (2016). "''Bucephala albeola''".
  2. Linnaeus, Carl. (1758). "Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis". Laurentii Salvii.
  3. Edwards, George. (1747). "A Natural History of Uncommon Birds". Printed for the author at the College of Physicians.
  4. (1979). "Check-List of Birds of the World". Museum of Comparative Zoology.
  5. Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
  6. (December 2023). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". International Ornithologists' Union.
  7. Daniel A., Guthrie. (2010). "Avian material from Rancho del Oro, a Pleistocene locality in San Diego County, California". Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences.
  8. "Bufflehead Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology".
  9. Lippson, Alice Jane. (1997). "Life in the Chesapeake Bay". JHU Press.
  10. "BBS Trend Maps - Bufflehead Bucephala albeola". US Department of the Interior.
  11. Gauthier, G. 1993. Bufflehead, ''Bucephala albeola''. The Birds of North America. (67), 24 pages. Edited by A. Poole and F. Gill, The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
  12. Finley, J.K. 2007. The punctual Bufflehead, ''Bucephala albeola'': autumn arrivals in Shoal Harbour Sanctuary, Vancouver Island, in relation to freeze-up. Canadian Field-Naturalist 121:370-374.
  13. "Bufflehead Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology".
  14. "Town Crest & Flag".

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bucephala-(bird)native-birds-of-alaskabirds-of-canadanative-birds-of-the-northwestern-united-statesbirds-described-in-1758animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus