Long-tailed Duck Identification Guide

Key Field Marks

• Size & shape: A small, compact, buoyant sea duck with a round head, small stubby bill, and — in males — long, pointed central tail feathers that give the species its name.
• Breeding male (seen mainly on the Arctic breeding grounds): Predominantly dark chocolate-brown head, neck, and breast, with a pale gray face patch, and long black tail streamers.
• Winter male (the plumage most birders encounter): Largely white head and neck with a dark cheek patch, dark breast contrasting with a white body, and long dark tail streamers; bill is dark with a pink band.
• Female/immature: Shorter-tailed and duller, mottled brown-and-white head and body, lacking the male's long tail plumes; pattern varies seasonally and by age.
• Molt: Long-tailed Ducks undergo more distinct plumages through the year than any other duck species, so head and body pattern can look quite different from fall through spring.

Separating from Other Sea Ducks

• Scoters: Larger and darker overall, lacking the Long-tailed Duck's extensive white body and long tail streamers; scoters also have heavier, more swollen bills.
• Eiders: Much bulkier with wedge-shaped heads and heavy bills; Long-tailed Duck is notably smaller and more delicate-looking, riding high and buoyant on the water.
• Overall: The combination of small size, stubby bill, buoyant posture, and (in males) long tail streamers is distinctive among sea ducks once learned.

Where & When to See It

Breeds on Arctic tundra ponds and coastal wetlands across the high Arctic of North America and Eurasia. Winters offshore on northern oceans and large inland lakes (including the Great Lakes), where it dives to considerable depths for mollusks and crustaceans, often forming rafts with other sea ducks. Most birders in temperate latitudes encounter it only in its nonbreeding winter plumage.

Voice

Notably vocal for a sea duck, especially in flocks: a yodeling, far-carrying ow-ow-owdle-ow call is frequently given by males on wintering grounds and is a helpful clue to locating flocks even before they are seen.