Appearance:

Shape resembles both diving and dabbling ducks. Characteristic head profile with long bill, long sloping forehead and rather high rear crown (not unlike Pochard). White undertail usually visible also when on the water. Broad, white wing-bars and white underwing conspicous in flight. White undertail separated from white belly by brown band. Male with shining white eyes. Female with brown eye and less bright rufous tones to plumage. Immature similar to female, but with even less rufous. Immatures told from immature Pochard by by darker back, no facial markings and white (not grey) wing-bars. Note that Tufted Duck sometimes have white (but more diffuse) undertail. Beware also of hybrids with Pochard (note bill-pattern).

Sound:

Female call similar to female Tufted Duck's "kerr kerr", but thinner and with a strong, peculiar bi-tone. Male display call mostly consists of various short "chk" sounds.

Female:

Distribution:

Xeno-canto: map

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

CC

CC-sound:Jarek Matusiak, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Linton Snapper, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Radovan Václav, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:darwin_initiative, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Frank.Vassen, Licence,Link.

CC-photo:Koshyk, Licence,Link.

Appearance:

Unmistakable in summer with almost all black plumage. White oval wing-patches in all plumages. Only auk with white wing-panels. Bill quite slender and pointed, body and wings rounded. Winter plumage blotched in grey and white, with dark wings (with white coverts). Typically scans for food by frequently dipping forehead in the water.

Sound:

Call surprisingly high pitched. Quite pure, drawn out, plaintive whistling notes in same pitch range as Hazel Grouse.

Contact call:

Distribution:

Wikipedia: map (se also Xeno-canto below)

Ecology:

Birdlife ecology

Links:

Observation.org Latest observations

Video IBC

Image search Flickr NB! May give other species

Sound search at Xeno-canto

Featherbase

CC

Sounds:Recorded by David Farrow. http://www.xeno-canto.org .CC license