Long-tailed Duck

The Long-tailed Duck is a medium-sized sea duck. Adults have white underparts although the rest of the plumage goes through a complex moulting process. The male has a long pointed tail and a dark grey bill crossed by a pink band. In winter, the male has a dark cheek patch on a mainly white head and neck, a dark breast and mostly white body. In summer, the male is dark on the head, neck and back with a white cheek patch. The female has a brown back and a relatively short pointed tail. In winter, the female's head and neck are white with a dark crown. In summer, the head is dark. Juveniles resemble adult females in autumn plumage, though with a lighter, less distinct cheek patch.

The Long-tailed Duck breeds in tundra pools and marshes but also along sea coasts and in large mountain lakes in north America, northern Europe and Russia. It is migratory and winters along the eastern and western coasts of north America, on the Great Lakes, coastal northern and western Europe and Asia. The most important wintering area is the Baltic Sea where a total of about 4.5 million gather.

The Long-tailed Duck feeds by diving for molluscs, crustaceans and some small fish.

Date: 2nd June 2015

Location: Lake Mývatn, north east Iceland