Long-tailed Duck

The Long-tailed Duck is a distinctive Arctic sea duck known for the male's exceptionally long, slender tail streamers and for having more plumage variations through the year than almost any other duck. Breeding males are dark brown and white with a rounded pink-banded bill and dramatically elongated central tail feathers; winter males become mostly white with a dark cheek patch and breast. Females lack the long tail and show a more subdued brown-and-white pattern that also shifts seasonally.

This compact, round-headed duck is a deep and agile diver, capable of reaching considerable depths in pursuit of food, and often forms large rafts on open water.

Key field marks

• Small, round head; short, stubby bill
• Male: long, thin, pointed tail feathers visible year-round, giving the species its name
• Winter male: mostly white with dark cheek patch and breast band
• Female: brown-mottled crown and cheek patch, lacking the long tail
• Complex molt cycle produces up to three (rather than the usual two) distinct plumages per year

Similar species

No other North American or Eurasian duck combines the small round head, stubby bill, and long tail streamers of the male. Females can suggest small scoters but are paler and more patchily marked on the face.

Long-tailed Ducks breed on Arctic tundra pools and coastal wetlands across the high Arctic of North America and Eurasia. In winter they move to open sea, favoring shallow continental shelf waters, bays, and the Great Lakes, sometimes gathering in large, dense flocks well offshore.

Behavior

Among the deepest-diving ducks, Long-tailed Ducks can descend tens of meters underwater to forage, using their wings to swim.

Voice

Vocal on breeding and wintering grounds alike; males give a musical, yodeling "ow-owdle-ow" call that carries far over water.

Feeding

Mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish, obtained through deep diving in open water.

Nesting

Nests on the ground near tundra pools, well concealed in vegetation; females incubate 6-9 eggs and lead ducklings to water shortly after hatching.