Tufted Duck, Kuifeend, Reiherente, Zarro-negrinha, Porrón Moñudo
Spotted in the Alentejo region of Portugal Tufted Duck sound
The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.
More photos at the bottom of this page.
The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name. The adult female is brown with paler flanks, and is more easily confused with other diving ducks. In particular, some have white around the bill base which resembles the scaup species, although the white is never as extensive as in those ducks.
The only duck which is at all similar is the drake North American Ring-necked Duck, which however has a different head shape, no tuft and greyish flanks.
The Tufted Duck is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
The Tufted Duck breeds widely throughout temperate and northern Eurasia. It occasionally can be found as a winter visitor along both coasts of the United States and Canada. It is believed to have expanded its traditional range with the increased availability of open water due to gravel extraction, and the spread of freshwater mussels, a favourite food. These ducks are migratory in most of their range, and winter in the milder south and west of Europe, southern Asia and all year in most of the United Kingdom. They will form large flocks on open water in winter.
Their breeding habitat is close to marshes and lakes with plenty of vegetation to conceal the nest. They are also found on coastal lagoons, the seashore, and sheltered ponds.
These birds feed mainly by diving, but they will dabble. They eat molluscs, aquatic insects and some plants and sometimes feed at night.
Other synonyms:
Asturian: Coríu Calón de Moñin, Parru, Parru Moñudo
Breton: Ar morilhon kabellek
Catalan: Morell capellut, Morell de plomall, Moretó de plomall
Catalan (Balears): Moretó de plomall
Valencian: Morell capellut
Czech: Kachna chocholatá, Polák chocholacka, polák chocholaèka
Welsh: Hwyaden gopog, Hwyaden gopynog
Danish: Troldand
German: Reiherente
English: Tufted Duck, Tufted Pochard
Esperanto: Tufanaso
Spanish: Pato de copete, Porron Moñudo, Porrón Moñudo
Estonian: Tuttvart
Basque: Morell de plomall, Murgilari mottodun, Murgilari mottoduna
Finnish: Tukkasotka
Faroese: Trøllont
French: Canard morillon, Fuligule morillon, Morillon, Morillon fuligule
Frisian: Tûfein
Irish: Lacha Bhadánach, Lacha dhubh
Gaelic: Lach an Sgùmain, Lach Thopach
Galician: Morell de plomall, Pato cristado
Manx: Thunnag happag, Thunnag Happag h, Thunnag Happagh
Croatian: Krunata Patka
Hungarian: Kontyos réce
Indonesian: Kambangan Hitam
Icelandic: Skúfönd
Italian: Moretta, Moretta comune, Moretta eurasiatica
Japanese: Kinkiro-hajiro, kinkurohajiro, Kinkuro-hajiro
Cornish: Hos penvagas
Latin: Aythya fuligula, Nyroca fuligula
Lithuanian: Kuoduotoji antis
Maltese: Brajmla tat-Toppu
Dutch: Kuifeend
Norwegian: Lapand, Lappand, Toppand, Trolland
Polish: czernica
Portuguese: negrinha, Zarro-negrinha
Romansh: Anda mora
Russian: Khokhlataya Chernet
Scots: Lach thopach
Northern Sami: Vuoktafiehta
Slovenian: copasta crnica
Albanian: Rosa laramane me çafkë
Serbian: cubasta patka, Cubasta plovka
Swedish: Vigg
Swahili: Bata Kishungi
Turkish: Tepeli Kara Ördek, Tepeli patka
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