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The male Common Goldeneye adds a bright note to winter days with its radiant amber eye, glistening green-black head, and crisp black-and-white body and wings. The female has a chocolate brown head with the same bright eye that gives this species its name.
Feb 7, 2019 · The male Common Goldeneye adds a bright note to winter days with its radiant amber eye, glistening green-black head, and crisp black-and-white body and wings. The female has a chocolate brown head with the same bright eye that gives this species its name.
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Females and first-year males have gray body and chocolate brown head. Bright yellow eyes usually stand out on all but first-year females. Very similar to Barrow’s Goldeneye. Males are easiest: Common has less black on the back, lacks a dark spur on the side, and has a circular (not crescent-shaped) white patch on the face.
- Male Common Goldeneye
- Female Common Goldeneye
- Male and Female Common Goldeneyes Together
- Pictures of Common Goldeneye Courtship Displays
- Female “Jiving”
- Male “Laying Neck on Water”
- Male “Bowsprit”
- Male “Masthead”
- Male “Head-Throw”
- Male “Kick”
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Note the male has a beautiful iridescent black/green head, a long white body and the bright yellow eyes it is named for.
The female has a rich brown head, a grey body showing some of the white patch on their secondaries. Note the reddish-yellow tip on the end of the bill.
In general Common Goldeneyes pair up for breeding season (the male leaves shortly after incubation). Note in the last picture the male (L) displays a “Head Throw” pose while the female (R) uses the “Jiving” pose to indicate she has selected her mate (see more about these poses below).
Observers have documented 14 different poses Common Goldeneyes exhibit, mostly during courtship. I was able to identify several of these poses in my pictures with the help of Miles T. Meyers’ Master’s Thesis (1953) which can be found HERE(an enthralling 254 page tome entitled, “An Introduction to the Behavior of the Goldeneyes: Bucephala Islandica ...
Although we typically think that males perform the mating rituals the female Common Goldeneye responds to the male’s actions with her own behaviors. The picture below is a display of “Jiving”, which is a courtship response by a female to a preferred male that says, “I belong to you”. Note that the female (Right) has her head down and her head is wi...
When the drake (male) Common Goldeneye displays its “Laying Neck on Water” pose, it is interpreted as a threat posture. The less neck shown, the more motivated the drake is in its aggression. Since the neck is mostly exposed in the picture below the drake is demonstrating a relatively low rate of aggression.
A Bowsprit is a type of sailing ship’s mast which extends forward of the bow. The Common Goldeneye uses the “Bowsprit” pose as part of the courting process and as a greeting function. Note in the picture below how the neck angles out about 45° from the body with the head extended along the same line.
Like the “Bowsprit” the “Masthead” pose is used by the male Common Goldeneye as part of its courting display. Here, the drake raises its head and extends it neck to vertical, pointing the beak straight up.
Head-throw is the most frequent display in Common Goldeneye courting parties. If you’ve ever seen them during breeding season you probably have noticed males tilting their heads back until the crown of the head actually touches its back. Below is a sequence of pictures showing the position of the head during the “Head-throw”. Occasionally, as the h...
There are other poses I did not capture images of but I will update this post if and when I do. Stay Safe. Go Birding. Take Pics. Post Here. Repeat Mike If you are just visiting and would like to know more about GreatBirdPics.com CLICK HERE. Members can post their beautiful bird images, create a webpage of their images, make comments on other’s pic...
Learn about the Common Goldeneye, a popular winter resident in the U.S., and see pictures of males and females swimming, flying and displaying. See the distinctive features of the female, such as the reddish-yellow bill tip, and the courtship poses, such as the head-throw and the jive.
See photos of male and female Common Goldeneyes, a diving duck with a white spot before yellow eye and a chocolate brown head. Learn about their range, behavior, habitat, diet, nesting, and conservation status.
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The male Common Goldeneye adds a bright note to winter days with its radiant amber eye, glistening green-black head, and crisp black-and-white body and wings. The female has a chocolate brown head with the same bright eye that gives this species its name.
