Meet the Common Goldeneye: A Global Traveler of Sea and Sky

Our Bonanza hits the water today with our 477th species, the Common Goldeneye.

Common Goldeneyes are sea ducks with a broad global range. They breed across northern forests in Canada, Scandinavia, Russia, and China. They winter across much of North America and in parts of Europe and Asia south of their breeding range.

Common Goldeneye by Stefan Berndtsson (CC BY 2.0)

Common Goldeneyes nest in tree cavities. They will also use nest boxes. When it is time to fledge, the ducklings leave the cavity nest and fall to the ground. Sometimes duckling goldeneyes may be raised by unrelated adults. This can happen one of two ways. First, female goldeneyes may lay eggs in the nests of other goldeneyes. Another familial mix-up can occur when females with ducklings get into territory fights with other families. As the adult female ducks fight, the ducklings can get mixed up. Once the fight is over and each family swims away, ducklings may end up with a different brood.

Tomorrow we'll add a colorful species, named for the flower-like color of the male's head, found in India and Southeast Asia.