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Aythya fuligula

Tufted duck

Female (CC BY-SA 4.0) Holger Uwe Schmitt

Short Description

The tufted duck stands out for its yellow eyes and black plumage, sometimes with a metallic-purple sheen. Its bill is grey.

Males (drakes) have white flanks and underparts. They are also easily identified by the long tuft hanging down from the back of their head.

Females have chestnut-brown flanks and tend to be more dark-brown rather than black. Their underparts are light brown.

Features

Tufted duck

Aythya fuligula

  • yellow eyes

  • drakes with a long tuft

Rufe

Frommolt (CC BY-SA 3.0)

00:00
Habitus (CC BY 2.0) Kathy Büscher

In the city

Tufted ducks can be found in stagnant or slow-flowing waters. In an urban environment, these are often ditches and ponds or lakes in parks.

Fun Facts

  • Mussels are the preferred food of tufted ducks. Juveniles feed exclusively on insects.

  • Tufted ducks can dive up to two metres deep in their search for food.

  • Feeding wild fowl with bread or similar poses a great risk to animals and water. For that reason, feeding is forbidden.

  • Tufted ducks can be seen in Germany all year round.

  • Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Male (CC BY-SA 4.0) Dr. Raju Kasambe

Sources

Female, Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Reiherente_%28weiblich%29_im_Schlossparkweiher_Bad_Mergentheim._07.jpg

Habitus, Kathy Büscher, CC BY 2.0, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Reiherente_%2813%29_%2834863886172%29.jpg

Male, Dr. Raju Kasambe, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Tufted_Duck_Aythya_fuligula_Male_by_Dr._Raju_Kasambe_DSCN9795_%2817%29.jpg

Bejcek, V. (1988) Zugvögel, Hanau/Main: Verlag Werner Dausien.

Witt, K. & Steiof, K. (2013) Rote Liste und Liste der Brutvögel von Berlin, 3. version, 15.11.2013. : Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. (eds.) Berliner Ornithologischer Bericht, volume 23, Berlin: Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V., 1-23.

NABU – Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (2016) Rote Liste der Brutvögel Deutschlands. 5. version, published August 2016, URL: https://www.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/voegel/artenschutz/rote-listen/10221.html (Accessed: 07.04.2017).

Page „Reiherente“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 18.01.2016, 01:13 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reiherente&oldid=150363101 (Accessed: 12.02.2016).

Artenfinder (2016) Aythya fuligula (Reiherente), URL: https://arteninfo.net/elearning/voegel/speciesportrait/2866 (Accessed: 21.04.2016).

NABU Landesverband Berlin (n.d.) Was tun wenn, URL: https://berlin.nabu.de/tiere-und-pflanzen/was-tun-wenn/13076.html (Accessed: 16.09.2016).