Bucephala clangula PairFemale goldeneye with chicks
Thecommon goldeneye or simplygoldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sizedsea duck of thegenusBucephala, the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similarBarrow's goldeneye.[2] The genus name is derived from theAncient Greekboukephalos ("bullheaded", frombous, "bull " andkephale, "head"), a reference to the bulbous head shape of thebufflehead. The species name is derived from theLatinclangere ("to resound").
Common goldeneyes are aggressive and territorial ducks, and have elaborate courtship displays.[2]
The common goldeneye wasformally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeus in thetenth edition of hisSystema Naturae under thebinomial nameAnas clangula.[3] Linnaeus specified thetype location as Europe but in 1761 restricted this to Sweden.[4][5] The common goldeneye is now one of three species placed in the genusBucephala that was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalistSpencer Baird.[6] The genus name is fromAncient Greekoukephalos meaning "bullheaded" or "large-headed". The specific epithet is fromLatin "clangere" meaning "to resound".[7]
B. c. clangula (Linnaeus, 1758) – subarctic from Scotland and Scandinavia toSakhalin andKamchatka Peninsula (southeast Russia), in south through northKazakhstan, north Mongolia and Heilongjiang (northeast China)
B. c. americana (Bonaparte, 1838) – subarctic from west Alaskan mainland to Labrador and New Brunswick, south through northern USA
Adult males range from 45–51 cm (18–20 in) and weigh approximately 1,000 g (2.2 lb), while females range from 40–50 cm (16–20 in) and weigh approximately 800 g (1.8 lb).[2] The common goldeneye has a wingspan of 77–83 cm (30.5–32.5 in).[8] The species is named for its golden-yellow eyes. Adult males have a dark head with a greenish gloss and a circular white patch below the eye, a dark back and a white neck and belly. Adult females have a brown head and a mostly grey body. Their legs and feet are orange-yellow.
The subspeciesB. c. americana has a longer and thicker bill than thenominateB. c. clangula.[9]
Their breeding habitat is thetaiga. They are found in the lakes and rivers of boreal forests acrossCanada and the northern United States,Scotland,Scandinavia, theBaltic States, and northernRussia. They aremigratory and most winter in protected coastal waters or open inland waters at more temperate latitudes.[2] Naturally, they nest in cavities in large trees, where they return year after year,[10] though they will readily usenest boxes as well.[11]
Natural tree cavities chosen for nest sites include those made by broken limbs and those made by large woodpeckers, specificallypileated woodpeckers orblack woodpeckers.[12] Average egg size is a breadth of 42.6–44.0 mm (1.68–1.73 in), a length of 58.1–60.6 mm (2.29–2.39 in) and a weight of 61.2–66.6 g (2.16–2.35 oz).[2] The incubation period ranges from 28 to 32 days. The female does all the incubating and is abandoned by the male about 1 to 2 weeks into incubation. The young remain in the nest for about 24–36 hours.Brood parasitism is quite common with other common goldeneyes,[13] and occurs less frequently with other duck species. The broods commonly start to mix with other females' broods as they become more independent or are abandoned by their mothers.[14] Goldeneye young have been known to be competitively killed by other goldeneye mothers,common loons andred-necked grebes.[2] The young are capable of flight at 55–65 days of age.
Common goldeneyes are diving birds that forage under water. Year-round, about 32% of their prey iscrustaceans, 28% is aquaticinsects and 10% ismolluscs.[15]Insects are the predominant prey while nesting andcrustaceans are the predominant prey during migration and winter. Locally,fish eggs and aquaticplants can be important foods.
The common goldeneye is one of the species to which theAgreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. Around 188,300 common goldeneyes were killed annually byduck hunters inNorth America during the 1970s, representing slightly less than 4% of the total waterfowl killed in Canada during that period, and less than 1% of the total waterfowl killed in the US.[16] Both the breeding and winter habitats of these birds have been degraded by clearance and pollution. However, the common goldeneye in North America is known to derive short-term benefits fromlake acidification.[17]
^abcdefEadie, J. M.; Mallory, M. L.; Lumsden, H. G. (1995). "Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)".The Birds of North America Online.doi:10.2173/bna.170.
^Reeber, Sébastien (2015).Waterfowl of North America, Europe, and Asia : an identification guide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0691162669.
^Eadie, John McA.; Kehoe, F. Patrick; Nudds, Thomas D. (1988-08-01). "Pre-hatch and post-hatch brood amalgamation in North American Anatidae: a review of hypotheses".Canadian Journal of Zoology.66 (8):1709–1721.doi:10.1139/z88-247.ISSN0008-4301.
^Pöysä, Hannu; Rask, Martti; Nummi, Petri (1994). "Acidification and ecological interactions at higher trophic levels in small forest lakes: the perch and the common goldeneye".Annales Zoologici Fennici.31 (4):397–404.JSTOR23735678.
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