Barrow's Goldeneye

Physical Features

The Barrow's Goldeneye is a medium-sized black-and-white diving duck that has a chunky body with a large head. It is similar in appearance to the Common Goldeneye, but it is larger with a stronger bill and the shape of their heads is different with the Barrow's Goldeneye having a more vertical forehead. The breeding male has a purple-black head with a bright white crescent shaped patch on the side of its face near the base of the bill. It has black wings, back, shoulders and tail with white breast, belly and sides. There are a series of white squares along its sides above the wings. He has a short, triangular black bill with golden yellow eyes. The non-breeding male resembles the female although it has a tinge of black on the sides. The female's head is chocolate brown and she has slate-grey colored wings, back and tail. Her flanks, belly and breast are white. She also has a short triangular bill, but it is predominantly yellow and her eyes are pale yellow to white. Immatures resemble the females. The males are slightly bigger than the females and they range in weight between 800g – 1kg with a body length of 42-53cm and their wingspan extends 77-83cm.

Habitat

During the breeding season, Barrow's Goldeneye can be found in lakes, pools and slow rivers, and at elevations of up to 3,000 meters in Rocky Mountains. During the winter they prefer marine areas in shallow protected bays, estuaries, and large lakes with a sandy, gravel, or rocky substrate The Barrow's Goldeneye is a migratory bird primarily of the western mountain region of North America and it breeds from Central Alaska to Oregon and Colorado as well as far North in Quebec and Iceland. It winters along both North American coasts and in southern parts of the range.

Diet

Barrow's Goldeneye forages underwater and feeds by diving for its food under water. It is common to see several Goldeneyes diving simultaneously in search for food. During the breeding season aquatic insects provide the bulk of their diet while mollusks, crustaceans, fish and fish eggs make up their winter diet. They nest in cavities in trees, also in burrows or protected sites on the ground. In the breeding season, aquatic insects make up the bulk of the diet, and in fact, Barrow's Goldeneyes prefer ponds that lack insect-eating fish that compete for prey. In winter, mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and occasionally fish eggs are their main foods.

Meat

The Barrow's Goldeneye is a threatened species due to human activity, pollution, habitat loss and hunting. It is protected by several laws within most parts of its range. It has strong-tasting meat as a result of its fish and aquatic invertebrate diet.

Behavior

Barrow's Goldeneyes are aggressive and territorial, and males will defend territories, while females will defend areas around their broods. The females will only start breeding around 3 years of age. Males perform spectacular courtship displays and pairs form in late winter or early spring. The Goldeneyes nest in cavities of mature trees within forested habitats, in burrows or in protected areas on the ground. The female lays between 6 to 12 eggs that she incubates for 29 to 31 days. The pair bond dissolves as soon as the female starts incubating the eggs, but they re-join during the fall. The male begins his molt migration while the newborn chicks leave their nest as early as one to two days after hatching and the mother leads them to a place with abundant food where they feed themselves. The mother abandons the young after 5 to 6 weeks before they can fly. The young will then fledge around 8 to 9 weeks of age. The Barrow's Goldeneye's call is similar to that of the Common Goldeneye. They are generally very quiet, except during courtship displays. Males grunt soft “ka-KAA”, while females utter low growling or grunting notes. When males fly off, their wings also produce whistling sounds.

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