Species: Clangula hyemalis

Long-tailed Duck

Species

Birds

Show on Lists

Species of concern in the Salish Sea

Salish Sea-reliant birds

Terrestrial vertebrates: birds

Puget Sound Partnership indicator species: birds

Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Science Review:

9. Marine birds

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Anseriformes

Family

Anatidae

Genus

Clangula

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103301

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Oldsquaw - Pato Cola Larga - harelde kakawi

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Waterfowl

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Anseriformes - Anatidae - Clangula

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

A sea duck.

Migration

false - false - true - Migrates northward to breeding grounds in March-April. Moves southward in fall, October-November (Terres 1980). Some that summer in northwestern Alaska spend the winter in eastern Asia. Passes through Bering Strait in large numbers in late April. Large numbers fly eastward to Beaufort Sea area breeding areas from western Alaska, some probably arrive from interior Alaska, others migrate from coastal British Columbia and/or Great Lakes region and arrive via Mackenzie Valley. Arrives along Beaufort Sea coast mid-May (in west) to early June (eastern part). In Beaufort Sea area, males and some nonbreeding females migrate in early summer to large lakes and coastal lagoons and form large molting flocks; remain through July and August (Johnson and Herter 1989). Fall migration in Beaufort Sea area begins with males in late August; females with broods move to coastal lagoons with freeze-up in September, begin migration late September or early October (Johnson and Herter 1989).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Feeds mainly on animal food; eats crustaceans, fishes and their eggs, mollusks, and aquatic insects. Also eats a variety of aquatic plants (roots, leaves, buds, seeds). May dive very deep to obtain food (Bellrose 1976). Euphyllopods appear to be an especially important food source for ducklings. Individuals in summer molting flocks feed in nearshore waters on MYSIS, ONISIMUS, and bivalve mollusks (Johnson and Herter 1989).

Reproduction Comments

Breeding begins late May in south to June in north. Egg laying peaks late June-early July at Arctic Natl. Wildl. Ref. Clutch size often 5-11 (usually 6-8). Incubation 25-26 days, by female (male departs). Most eggs hatch in 2nd half of June in Beaufort Sea area. Nestlings precocial and downy. Young tended by female, independent in about 5 weeks (Harrison 1978). Does not breed until at least 2 years old. According to Bellrose (1980), nest success is around 70% and brood survival data are lacking. Frequently nests in clusters or colonies. Nests per sq km in northern Alaska: 0.6-1.8 in different areas (Johnson and Herter 1989).

Ecology Comments

Nonbreeding: may form very large concentrations, but tends to occur in small offshore flocks (Atlantic Flyway, Kehoe 1994).

Length

Weight

932

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1997-07-26

Global Status Last Changed

1996-11-21

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDING: in North America, from northern coast of Alaska east across Canada to Ellesmere and Baffin Islands and northern Labrador south to southern and central Alaska, northwestern British Columbia, eastern and south-central MacKenzie and Keewatin, and Hudson and James Bays. In Palearctic from Greenland, Iceland, Spitsbergen, and Scandinavia east across Russia to Chukotski Peninsula, Anadyrland, Kamchatka, and the Commander Islands. NON-BREEDING: in North America, mainly on coasts from Aleutians to Washington and from northern Greenland to South Carolina; in the interior, primarily on the Great Lakes (AOU 1983). In winter the highest densities occur along the Aleutian Islands and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; other areas of abundance include Lake Michigan, the coast of Maine, Lake Ontario, and south-coastal British Columbia (Root 1988). In the early 1990s, USFWS Winter Sea Duck Survey in eastern North America found the highest densities in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Maine, and Maryland (Kehoe 1994).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103301