Barrow's goldeneye

Facts

IUCN LEAST CONCERN (LC)

Facts about this animal

The Barrow’s goldeneye is a sea duck strongly aquatic in its lifestyle and an excellent diver. It has yellow eyes, a steeply sloped forehead with flatter crown and peak at the forward part of crown, and a small, stubby bill.The body-weight of males is about 1.1 kg, of females about 1 kg.

Barrow’s goldeneyes nest in tree cavities or, in treeless areas, on the ground. 9 to 11 bluish eggs are laid, which are incubated by the female alone for 32 days.

Did you know?
that the Barrow's Goldeneye is not too particular about holding on to its own offspring? A female may lay eggs in the nest of another goldeneye or other species of cavity-nesting duck. Once the ducklings come out of the nest, the broods of different females often come together and are taken care of by a single female. The young ducklings are highly independent, feeding on their own, and require little parental care.

Factsheet
Class	AVES
Order	ANSERIFORMES
Suborder	ANSERES
Family	ANATIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Bucephala islandica
Name (English)	Barrow's goldeneye
Name (French)	Garrot islandais
Name (German)	Spatelente
Name (Spanish)	Porrón islándico
Local names	Estonian: Läänesõtkas Italian: Quattrocchi islandico Romansh: Anda islandaisa
CITES Status	Not listed
CMS Status	Appendix II (as Anatidae spp.) Included in AEWA

Photo Copyright by
Adrina Pingstone

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Breeds in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and the United States. Vagrants may be encountered in a number of European countries.
Habitat	Marine and freshwater wetlands.
Wild population	The global population is estimated to be 180,000 to 210,000 individuals by Wetlands International (2002).
Zoo population	114 reported to ISIS (2006).

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 18 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

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Photo Copyright by
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Why do zoos keep this animal