Common Goldeneye

The Common Goldeneye is a medium-sized diving duck with a distinctive puffy, triangular head shape and a short, stubby bill. The breeding drake has a glossy dark green head (appearing black in poor light) marked with a bold round white spot between the eye and the bill, contrasting with a crisp white body and black back.

Females have a chocolate-brown head, gray body, and often a pale collar around the neck, with a bill that may show a yellow tip in some individuals. Both sexes share the species' signature bright golden-yellow eye, which gives the bird its name.

Key Field Marks

• Puffy, triangular head shape with a short, stubby bill
• Breeding drake: glossy dark green head, round white spot before the eye, black-and-white body
• Female: chocolate-brown head, gray body, sometimes a pale neck collar
• Bright golden-yellow eye in both sexes

Similar Species

Barrow's Goldeneye is very similar but has a crescent-shaped (rather than round) white face spot on the drake, a steeper forehead and shorter bill, and a more purplish (rather than greenish) head gloss; the two species overlap in range in parts of the West and require careful comparison of head shape and face-spot form.

Common Goldeneyes breed across the boreal forest zone of Canada, Alaska, and parts of the northern United States, as well as northern Europe and Asia, nesting in tree cavities near forested lakes and rivers. They winter on a wide range of open water, including large lakes, rivers that remain ice-free, and coastal bays and estuaries across much of temperate North America and Eurasia.

The species' fast, whistling wingbeats in flight give rise to the colloquial nickname "whistler," audible even when the bird itself is difficult to see.

Common Goldeneyes are active diving ducks, feeding on aquatic invertebrates such as insect larvae and crustaceans, along with small fish and some plant matter, diving frequently in relatively cold, often icy water. They are known for their hardiness, remaining on partially frozen lakes and rivers well into winter as long as some open water persists.

The male's elaborate courtship display includes a distinctive head-throw posture accompanied by a harsh, buzzy call. As a cavity nester, the female lays 6-9 eggs in a natural tree cavity or nest box near water, and ducklings leap from the nest entrance to the ground or water within about a day of hatching, similar to Wood Ducks.