Diving ducks
Tufted Duck
Aythya fuligula
A neat black-and-white diver with golden eyes and a jaunty tuft on the back of its head.
- Length
- 40–47 cm
- Wingspan
- 67–73 cm
- Weight
- 0.6–1.1 kg
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
About this duck
Tufted ducks are among the most familiar diving ducks of Europe and Asia, common on lakes, reservoirs and park ponds. They first nested in Britain in 1849 and have spread widely since, helped by new reservoirs, flooded gravel pits and invasive zebra mussels, a favorite food. In winter they gather in large, tightly packed rafts.
How to spot one
Drakes are glossy black with bright white sides, a golden-yellow eye and a drooping crest. Females are dark chocolate brown with paler flanks and a shorter tuft, and some show a little white at the base of the bill.