Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: White-naped Magpie Duck
- Scientific name: White-capped Magpie Duck, Giant Magpie Duck, Bucephala albeola, Bufflehead
- Classification: Waterfowl
- Family: Anseriformes, Anatidae, Magpies
Vital signs data
- Body length: Approximately 37 centimeters
- Weight: 340-450g
- Lifespan: Approximately 14 years
Significant features
It has a large head due to its fluffy feathers, and its body feathers are more stocky than those of a Lesser Pochard.
Distribution and Habitat
It is distributed in North America, including Bermuda, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and the United States.
Migratory birds: Bahamas, Finland, France, Greenland, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands.
Origin uncertain: Bonnell, São Eustachians and Saba, Curaçao, São Martin (Dutch).
In winter, they frequent shallow waters, bays, estuaries, and coastal lagoons. Outside the breeding season, they mainly inhabit slow-moving rivers, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, bays, and coastal waters.
Appearance
The White-naped Common Duck measures 37cm in length, has a wingspan of 55cm, weighs 450-340g, and has a lifespan of 14 years. This duck has a large head due to its bushy plumage, and its body feathers are more robust than those of the Lesser Pochard. Adult males have a black coat, a large patch of white feathers on the back of the head, white secondary flight feathers and median coverts, and white greater coverts with black tips, forming large white patches on the wings. The lower neck, breast, abdomen, and flanks are white, with slight black stripes near the rump. The undertail coverts are grey to dark brown, and the vent area is greyish-brown with white spots. The legs are bright pink.
Detailed introduction
The White-naped Magpie Duck (scientific name: Bucephala albeola), also known as the Bufflehead, has no subspecies.
White-naped magpie ducks begin their migration in late October and early November, flying over high-altitude mountains and grasslands from Arizona, New Mexico, and California eastward to the Atlantic coast, a distance of about 800 kilometers across the region, flying at an average speed of 55 to 65 kilometers per hour, including night-flying white-naped magpie ducks.
The White-naped Duck is agile in flight, swimming, and diving. It is the smallest diving duck. When flying, the male White-naped Duck's pink feet protrude from its white belly and the inside of its white wings. Unlike other diving ducks, it can dive directly using its feet. For safety, it often dives in groups or observes activity on the surface. It forages by diving, feeding on aquatic insects, mollusks, small fish, and aquatic plants. In seawater, it forages for shrimp, various crustaceans, and mollusks.
White-naped Magpie-ducks typically breed near forests or in lakes, rivers, ponds, and marshes rich in aquatic life within forests. Pairing usually occurs at the end of winter or during spring migration, although some pairs may form after arriving at the breeding grounds. They are monogamous and build their own nests. The female incubates the eggs, which are 7-11 in number, ranging in color from ivory to bright olive oil yellow or creamy pale yellow, and are oval in shape, measuring 5.1 × 3.8 cm. Chicks hatch at 28-33 days and are cared for by the female, becoming capable of flight after 50-55 days. They typically brood once a year.
Listed as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 ver 3.1.
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