Tufted Duck

Green list

Aythya fuligula

A smart black-and-white diving duck with a jaunty dangling crest, common on lakes and reservoirs.

Diving duck · 89,000 breeding pairs (UK)

Measurements

In most ducks the male (drake) and female (hen) look quite different. Study both to identify any bird.

Photos: Alexis Lours · CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Dives for molluscs such as zebra mussels, insect larvae and some plant material.

Diving (disappears fully underwater) Medium (mallard-sized, 45–55 cm)

Lakes, reservoirs, gravel pits and slow rivers; coastal in winter.

Nests close to water in dense vegetation, sometimes in old coot nests or tree holes.

UK breeders are mostly resident; continental birds arrive for the winter.

Males give a soft whistling display; females a gruff "kurr".

Compare with close relatives.

Aythya ferina

A round-headed diving duck whose drake glows chestnut and silver on a winter lake.

Bucephala clangula

A striking black-and-white diving duck of lakes and coasts, famous for head-breaking courtship displays.

Aythya marila

A chunky, round-headed diving duck of the open coast, the sea-going cousin of the tufted duck.

Netta rufina

A large, flamboyant diving duck with an orange crew-cut, a growing naturalised resident in England.