Tufted Duck
Aythya fuligula
The Tufted Duck is a distinctive diving duck characterized by a drooping crest of feathers on the back of its head. Males display a high-contrast black and white plumage with a purple sheen on the head, while females are predominantly dark brown. It prefers still or slow-moving inland waters as well as park ponds and is a proficient diver.
Details
Identification
Males with black back, white flanks, and long crest; females dark brown with shorter crest; both sexes with bright yellow eyes.
Social behavior
Highly gregarious; often forms large flocks outside the breeding season, frequently associated with Common Pochards.
Diet
Omnivorous; the diet consists mainly of mollusks (especially zebra mussels), snails, insect larvae, and occasionally aquatic plants.
Hunting strategy
Foraging by diving; food is actively sought on the water bottom at depths usually between 2 and 5 meters.
Overwintering
Overwinters on ice-free inland waters, larger lakes, or in protected coastal areas.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important predator of benthic invertebrates; contributes to the control of mussel populations.
Natural predators
Northern pike (for chicks), fox, mustelids, birds of prey, and large gulls.
Competitor species
Common Pochard, Greater Scaup, and other diving waterbirds with similar dietary requirements.
Ecosystem service
Regulation of invasive mussel species such as the zebra mussel.
Threats
Habitat loss through drainage, disturbance at breeding sites, water pollution, and lead poisoning from fishing weights or shot.
Scientific profile
Morphology & ID
Breeding plumage
Male: High-contrast black and white; head, neck, breast, and upperparts black with purple sheen; flanks pure white; prominent drooping crest on the hindneck. Female: Predominantly dark brown with paler flanks, crest significantly shorter.
Non-breeding plumage
Eclipse plumage of the male resembles the female but is darker and often retains traces of the white flanks; crest reduced.
Juvenile plumage
Similar to the female but duller brown; crest absent or only slight; eye initially brownish, later turning yellow.
Sexual dimorphism
Strongly pronounced; males in breeding plumage black and white with a long crest, females brown with a short crest.
Distinguishing features
Long, drooping crest (especially in males); bright yellow iris; broad white wing bar visible in flight; blue-grey bill with a black tip.
Confusion species
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) - larger, no crest, grey back; Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) - dark back, different bill pattern.
Bill
Medium length, blue-grey with a broad black nail at the tip.
Vocalization
Song
No true song; courtship calls of the male are soft, whistling trills ('wi-wi-wi').
Call
Female utters a harsh, growling 'karr' or 'kurr', especially in flight or when disturbed.
Distribution & migration
Breeding range
Wide parts of the Palearctic; from Iceland and the British Isles through Central and Northern Europe to Eastern Siberia.
Wintering range
Central and Southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East, South Asia to Japan; ice-free water bodies.
Migration details
Partial migrant; northeastern populations are long-distance migrants, Central European birds often residents or short-distance migrants.
Habitat
Breeding habitat
Nutrient-rich (eutrophic), standing or slow-flowing inland waters with reed beds; often on islands or within black-headed gull colonies.
Foraging habitat
Open water areas of lakes, ponds, rivers, and in winter also brackish/coastal areas; prefers water depths of 2-7 meters.
Breeding biology
Nest construction
Hollow in the ground, well hidden in dense vegetation (sedges, rushes), lined with plant material and dark down.
Eggs
Greenish-grey to olive-grey, smooth, slightly glossy.
Parental care
Sole incubation and leading of the precocial young by the female.
Diet & behaviour
Diet breeding
Predominantly animal-based: Mollusks (especially zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha), insect larvae (caddisflies, midges), crustaceans.
Diet winter
Similar to breeding season, high proportion of mussels; occasionally seeds and plant parts.
Feeding technique
Diving (diving ducks); searches for food on the water bottom.
Foraging strategy
Active diving to depths of usually 2-5 m, staying underwater for about 15-30 seconds.
Sociality
Highly social; forms large flocks outside the breeding season, often associated with other diving ducks.
Flock behaviour
Dense flocks on the water and in flight; communal foraging and roosting.
Protection & threats
Main threats
Habitat loss through drainage, disturbance from water sports, lead poisoning from shot, predation (especially invasive species like raccoons).
Population trend
Stable to slightly increasing in Central Europe; expansion facilitated by the establishment of the zebra mussel.
Conservation measures
Protection of breeding waters, reduction of recreational disturbances, ban on lead shot in wetlands, predator management.