Tufted Duck Life History

Habitat

During the breeding season, Tufted Ducks occur on shallow (<15 m) freshwater lakes as well as slower sections of rivers. They spend winters on calm, protected coastal waters in addition to ice-free lakes and reservoirs. In Europe, Tufted Ducks are second only to Mallards when it comes to using human-made water bodies like reservoirs, ornamental ponds in city parks, and fishponds.

Food

Tufted Ducks eat lots of mussels, clams, snails, and other mollusks when they're available. They also eat aquatic plants, crustaceans, aquatic insects, grains, and even potatoes. Tufted Ducks usually dive for their food, spending 20 seconds underwater on average and going 3–14 meters (10–46 feet) deep, but they also dabble for food on the water surface. These ducks can eat larger mussels, but they prefer small mussels—they suck water into their bills, strain out the water, and then crush the small mussels in their gizzard.

Nesting

Nest Placement

On island nesting sites when possible. Placed on the ground, usually within 20 meters (66 feet) of water. Sometimes placed in grasses or bushes, but other times out in the open, especially when in gull or tern colonies.

Nest Description

A depression on the ground, lined with grasses, other vegetation, and down feathers. Female builds nest with nearby materials and uses her body to shape the cup.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Tufted Ducks often gather in large flocks during the winter months, sometimes numbering thousands of birds. When diving, individuals usually start with a quick leap forward. Birds create a splashing sound on the water surface as they take flight, and then produce a whistling sound with their wingbeats.

Tufted Ducks are monogamous within a single breeding season, with males and females forming pairs in late winter or early spring. Birds remain paired until the female starts incubating, after which the male goes his own way and rarely helps raise the young. Females care for young birds, often until they fledge at 45–50 days old. When a late nesting season collides with females’ need to molt their flight feathers, they may leave their broods after 29–42 days, at which point the young can normally survive on their own.

Conservation

IUCN lists Tufted Duck’s conservation status as Least Concern, due to its extremely large population size (estimated at 2.6–2.9 million individuals), extremely large range, and stable population trend.

Credits

Carboneras, C. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.tufduc.01

Cramp, S., and K. E. L. Simmons, Editors (1977). The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

de Leeuw, J.J. and van Eerden, M.R. (1992). Size selection in diving Tufted Ducks Aythya fuligula explained by differential handling of small and large mussels Dreissena polymorpha. Ardea. 80(3): 353–362.

de Leeuw, J.J., van Eerden, M.R. and Visser, G.H. (1999). Wintering Tufted Ducks Aythya fuligula diving for zebra mussels Dreissena polymorpha balance feeding costs within narrow margins of their energy budget. Journal of Avian Biology. 30(2): 182–192.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (2022). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org.

Jonsson, L. (1992). Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East. Christopher Helm, London.

Svensson, L., K. Mullarney, and D. Zetterström (2009). Collins Bird Guide. Second edition. HarperCollins, London, UK.

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