Species: Bucephala albeola
Bufflehead
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Aves
Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Genus
Bucephala
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Pato Monja - petit garrot
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Waterfowl
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Anseriformes - Anatidae - Bucephala
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A bird (duck).
Migration
false - false - true - Migrates northward February-April. Begins moving southward from October into November.
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
In fresh water feeds on aquatic insects, snails, amphipods, small fishes, and some aquatic plants. In salt water eats crustaceans, molluscs, fishes, and some aquatic plants. Often feeds in small groups, diving or watching for danger.
Reproduction Comments
Breeding begins mid-May in south to early June in north (Harrison 1978). Clutch size 6-11 (avg. 7-9). Incubation 28-33 days, by female (Terres 1980). In British Columbia, mean hatching date is mid- to late June (Savard et al. 1991). Young tended by female, fly 50-55 days after hatching. First breeds at 2 yr.
Ecology Comments
Usually seen in small groups of twos or threes. Female strongly defends brood territory. In British Columbia, breeding density not limited by nest sites but rather by territorial behavior (Gauthier and Smith 1987); also, may be excluded from some ponds at high Barrow's goldeneye densities (Savard et al. 1991).
Length
34
Weight
473
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-21
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-21
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
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Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: central Alaska, Mackenzie Delta, northern Prairie Provinces, northern Ontario, south to northern Washington, northern Montana; locally south to the mountains of Oregon, northern California, and northern Colorado (Andrews and Righter 1992). NON-BREEDING: Aleutians, Alaska Peninsula, Great Lakes, New Brunswick and Newfoundland, south to Baja California, mainland Mexico, Gulf Coast, Florida; occasionally in Hawaii. The most abundant wintering populations include those around Vancouver Island, along the Atlantic coast from the Bay of Fundy to Chesapeake Bay, and in northern California-southern Oregon, Mississippi, eastern New Mexico (Root 1988).
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)