The Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a compact diving duck often given away by the whistling sound its wings make in flight — a sound distinctive enough to identify the bird by ear alone. It is 42–50 cm long with a wingspan of roughly 65–80 cm and a weight of about 550–1,100 g. The male in breeding plumage is eye-catching, with a black back, white underside and a large, glossy greenish-black, high-domed head marked by a round white patch between bill and eye, along with bright yellow eyes. The female has a chocolate-brown head, often with a narrow pale neck collar, and a grey body; both sexes appear large-headed relative to the body.
During display the male gives a whining, two-note "pii-tii" call while throwing his head back onto his rump in an elaborate courtship posture. Common Goldeneyes breed across almost the entire region except the open mountains, most numerous on forest lakes and rivers, with the Swedish population estimated at roughly 75,000–125,000 pairs; in winter many birds move to ice-free waters and are then found regularly along coasts, river mouths and even in city waterways. Uniquely among the region's ducks, it is a cavity nester, using old woodpecker holes, natural tree cavities or purpose-built nest boxes, often well above the ground near water; the female builds no proper nest but lines the cavity floor with down from her own breast, laying typically 8–11 eggs incubated for about 29–30 days. The ducklings jump down from the nest opening just a couple of days after hatching and reach the water unharmed even from a height of several metres. Feeding by diving, usually to a depth of a few metres but sometimes deeper, the Common Goldeneye takes aquatic insects and their larvae, crustaceans, molluscs, some small fish and aquatic plants. The species is classified as Least Concern (LC).
Read about this species in Swedish →