Common goldeneye
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell
Male common goldeneyes (sometimes called American goldeneyes) are comical little ducks, especially when displaying for the less colorful females (as the male at upper left is doing). Both sexes dive energetically for shellfish. They breed in northern North America and winter on ponds, lakes, rivers, and coastal ocean areas. All of these birds were photographed in Palo Alto and adjacent Mountain View, California; many of the images at the bottom of the page were taken in dawn light, with electronic flash. A close relative, the Barrow's goldeneye, is slightly darker, with a teardrop-shaped white face mark and a more angular head on males, a yellow beak on females.
More common goldeneye pictures here.
