Thursday, February 4, 2021

Bufflehead

I saw a duck called a bufflehead at the Salton Sea SRA a few weeks ago and had no idea what it was. The when I learned its name, I'd never heard of it before. 

I saw a male, the most interesting of the species. It puffs out the feathers on its head greatly increasing the size. It gets its name from the oddly shaped and large head - buffalo head or bufflehead. Adult males are black and white with a large white patch behind the eye and an iridescent green and purple head. 

It is one of the smallest American ducks and is highly active, almost continually diving. 

1 comment:

  1. It has an almost Phantom-of-the-Opera look. I love the name--one that should be easy to remember.

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