How to Identify a Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)

• Head pattern: Male: dark iridescent green head with a round white spot between the base of the black bill and the golden eye
• Eye color: Male and Female: golden-yellow eye
• Head pattern: Female: gray-brown head lacking the white spot between bill and eye, contrasting with a gray body
• Wing patch (speculum): Male and Female: significant white areas on the secondary coverts and feathers visible in flight; wingbeats produce a whistling sound
• Bill: Female: often has a yellow tip on an otherwise black bill, though the bill may be all dark in summer

Male Common Goldeneye has more white on the secondary feathers and a more peaked head than Barrow's Goldeneye, and its white facial marking is round rather than crescent-shaped

Forested lakes and rivers; salt bays and seacoasts in winter; breeding requires large trees for nesting cavities close to clear, cold water Breeds across the boreal forest of Alaska and Canada; winters widely across the US on lakes, rivers, and coasts

Males give a short, faint 'peent' during courtship; females give a harsh croaking alarm call

Shoot from water level if you can, with the sun behind you, so head pattern and the wing patch show their true colors. Get one frame with the bird side-on and one as it stretches or flaps, which exposes the speculum and belly. Note who it is swimming with; ducks flock by species. The app names the likely species; confirm with the marks above, and check the female separately, since females of many ducks look alike.