Bucephala clangula
A steep-headed diving duck with a piercing golden eye.
Size: 42-50 cm | Habitat: Pond, Lake & River Birds | Season: Winter visitor
The drake goldeneye is a strikingly patterned black-and-white diving duck with a bottle-green, puffy head and a round white spot before the eye, while females are grey-bodied with a rich chocolate-brown head. Most British birds are winter visitors from Scandinavia and Russia.
Steep, triangular head shape · drake: black-and-white body, green-black head, round white cheek spot · female: grey body, chocolate head, no spot · dives frequently and stays under a long time · bright golden-yellow eye in both sexes
Goldeneye dive for molluscs, crustaceans, and aquatic insects, often working the same stretch of water repeatedly. In late winter, displaying males throw their heads sharply back onto their rump in an exaggerated courtship display.
Goldeneye was added to the UK Red List in BoCC5 (2021), reflecting a steep decline in wintering numbers — a small, precarious Scottish breeding population also nests in old woodpecker holes and specially provided nest boxes near Highland lochs.
The Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is one of the most striking diving ducks on a British lake in winter — the drake's clean black-and-white plumage and puffy, bottle-green head stand out even at distance, and its steep forehead and round white cheek spot are the quickest way to separate it from the more numerous tufted duck sharing the same waters.
Almost all goldeneye seen in Britain arrive from Scandinavian and Russian breeding grounds each autumn, though a tiny, cherished breeding population persists in the Scottish Highlands, nesting in tree holes and specially provided boxes near Highland lochs — one of the more unusual nesting habits of any British duck.
Goldeneye's move onto the Red List reflects a genuine decline in wintering numbers, making a once-reliable winter lake sighting a little less certain than it used to be.
🔴 Conservation status: Red (UK Birds of Conservation Concern 5)
Red-listed following a marked decline in wintering numbers in Britain, alongside a small and vulnerable breeding population confined to the Scottish Highlands.