Tufted Duck

The Tufted Duck is a compact diving duck native to Eurasia, closely related to the North American scaup species and sharing a similar general shape and habits. The breeding drake is boldly patterned in glossy black and crisp white, with clean white flanks contrasting sharply against an all-black head, neck, breast, and back, plus a distinctive drooping tuft of feathers trailing from the back of the head.

Females are brown overall, sometimes showing a small white patch at the base of the bill (less extensive than in scaup) and a shorter head tuft. The species is a rare but regular visitor to North America, most often found in winter among flocks of scaup.

Key Field Marks

• Breeding drake: bold black-and-white pattern with clean white flanks, all-black head/neck/breast/back, and a long drooping head tuft
• Female: brown overall with a shorter tuft and sometimes a small pale patch at the bill base
• Yellow eye in both sexes
• Rounded head shape overall, similar in build to scaup

Similar Species

Greater and Lesser Scaup lack the distinctive drooping head tuft and have grayer (rather than pure white) backs on the drake. In North America, careful scrutiny of scaup flocks in winter is the typical way vagrant Tufted Ducks are found, with the tuft and stark white flanks being the key giveaways.

Tufted Ducks breed across a broad swath of temperate and northern Eurasia, from the British Isles east through Russia, favoring lakes, ponds, and slow rivers with adjacent vegetation. Many populations are migratory, wintering on lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters farther south across Europe and Asia.

The species occurs as a rare but increasingly regular vagrant in North America, particularly along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and around the Great Lakes, typically detected in winter among large flocks of scaup.

Tufted Ducks dive to feed on mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates, along with some plant material, in a manner very similar to North American scaup, often foraging in mixed flocks with related diving ducks where their ranges overlap. They are highly social and gregarious outside the breeding season.

The voice is generally quiet; males give soft whistled notes during courtship displays, while females give a harsh growling call similar to other Aythya ducks. Nests are built on the ground close to water, typically well concealed in vegetation, with females incubating 8-11 eggs alone.