Overview
The Common Goldeneye is closely related to the Barrow’s Goldeneye by having one physical appearance that stands out, and that is the striking gold coloration of these two birds. The average length for a Common Goldeneye is around 18 inches and an average weight around 2 lbs.. The drake has a blackish green colored head with a circular white oval patch between the eye and bill. The back and upper tail converts from black to a light brown color. The sides, belly, and breast are white. The bill is black and it has orange colored feet. The hen has a milk chocolate head with speckled grey side and back. The wings are split with the upper half being brown and the bottom half being white. The female bill is black that transcends into a yellow color towards the tip of the bill. They also have orange colored feet. Their habitat includes the boreal forests where they will be found in deep marshes or lakes. They make their nests primarily in tree cavities. The habitat for these birds consists primarily on mollusks, small fish, and crustaceans in deep freshwater, saltwater bay, or brackish estuaries.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Bird
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Bucephala
- Species
- clangula americana
Habitat
These birds breed across Canada, Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, and the northeastern part of the United States. Some will migrate down the Mississippi River, or will be found around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
Diet
These diving birds forage underwater. Year-round, about 32% of their prey is crustaceans, 28% is aquatic insects and 10% is molluscs. Insects are the predominant prey while nesting and crustaceans are the predominant prey during migration and winter. Locally, fish eggs and aquatic plants can be important foods. They themselves may fall prey to various hawks, owls and eagles, while females and their broods have been preyed upon by bears (Ursus spp.), various weasels (Mustela spp.), mink (Mustela vison), raccoons (Procyon lotor) and even northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus husonicus).
Behavior
Their breeding habitat is the taiga. They are found in the lakes and rivers of boreal forests across Canada and the northern United States, Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and northern Russia. They are migratory and most winter in protected coastal waters or open inland waters at more temperate latitudes. Naturally, they nest in cavities in large trees. Often the natural tree cavities are made by broken limbs, unless they are made by pileated woodpeckers or black woodpeckers, the only tree-cavity-making animals who make a cavity large enough to normally accommodate a goldeneye. Average egg size is a breadth of 43.3 mm (1.70 in), a length of 59.3 mm (2.33 in) and a weight of 64 g (2.3 oz). The incubation period ranges from 28 to 32 days. The female does all the incubating and is abandoned by the male about 1 to 2 weeks into incubation.
Hunting
Typically hunted with a 12 ga shotgun. Shot size #2-4 is sufficient. Effectively hunted with decoys and calling. Dogs are used for bird retrieval. Steel shot is required for waterfowl in the United States.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN.