Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

This is our smallest and most energetic diving duck with some major flare to boot. The male bufflehead’s oversized head glimmers green and purple iridescent with the appearance of a large pie slice removed, leaving a white patch on the back of its head. The rest of its body is a sleek and stark torpedo of black on white. The female is an unassuming brown and gray duck with a large head and distinctive white cheek patch. Both sexes measure around one foot in length and weigh between one half and just-over one pound.

Buffleheads are impressive divers and use their skills to catch aquatic invertebrates, insects, and mollusks as a main food source. Dives for food typically last between 12 and 25 seconds.

These small ducks choose woodpecker and Northern flicker holes as their nesting cavities, often preferring cavities found in aspen and poplars. Bufflehead are another mostly monogamous species and will stay with their partner for a few years, laying one brood of four to 17 eggs per year. Males will often leave the females during incubation in order to molt, but will return to help protect the ducklings.