How do you know if Bufflehead is male or female?
What do female Buffleheads look like?
Male and female sizes
behavioral difference
call
nesting and feeding
Can Female Buffleheads Raise Their Children Alone?
What color are female bulldogs?
Do Female Buffleheads Call?
The smallest diving duck in North America, the bufflehead (white cow) pairs can be found in ponds and small lakes early in the breeding season. Males have striking black and white plumage with a large white patch on the face. Females are smaller and lack the obvious markings of males, instead being grayish-brown all over with a much smaller white patch on their cheeks.
If you’re interested in finding out how a bufflehead female looks and behaves, our guide tells you all you need to know!
Female buffleheads are compact diving ducks that nest in the northernmost forests of Canada and the United States. Unlike the male’s striking black-and-white plumage, female buffleheads are brown and gray with white patches on their faces.
Studies have shown that two-headed cattle arrive together at their breeding grounds between April and May. Females identify potential nesting sites as early as the previous year and are solely responsible for the final site selection.
From June to July, the males leave the breeding grounds for the summer molt, leaving the females to incubate and raise the young on their own.
To learn more about female buffalo nesting habits and other typical behaviors, read on.
Closeup of a female bufflehead swimming on the water
How do you know if Bufflehead is male or female?
Male and female buffleheads are distinct in appearance and it is easy to tell the difference between the sexes. Males are glossy black with a distinct iridescent head, while females are predominantly dark brown. Both males and females have white cheek patches, but the females have much smaller patches.
Males have a smooth black upper body, a white breast and belly, and a large white patch extending from the cheek to the back of the head. The rest of their heads are black with an iridescent purple-green sheen. Males have blue-gray beaks and pink legs and feet.
In contrast, female buffleheads are less conspicuous, being predominantly dark brown with parts light gray, with a smaller whitish cheek patch on the dark brown head. Their bills are dark gray and the legs are dark pink gray. In eclipse plumage, males did become more similar in appearance to females, although they retained larger white facial patches.
female fool
male buffalo
What do female Buffleheads look like?
Female salamanders are compact brownish-gray waterbirds, 32 to 35 cm (12.6 to 13.8 in) long. They have dark brown-black heads with a distinctive white oval cheek patch that extends from under the eyes to the back of the head.
Their backs and wings are dark brownish gray with a white patch on the wings, while their underparts are light gray. Female buffaloes have dark gray short bills, dark brown irises, and dark gray-pink legs and feet.
Buffleheads are the smallest diving duck species in North America.
Close Up Female Bufflehead Swimming
Male and female sizes
Female buffleheads are smaller and slightly lighter than males. Females are 32 cm to 35 cm (12.6 in to 13.8 in) long, while males average 35 cm to 40 cm (13.8 in to 15.7 in).
The average weight of an adult female buffalo is 337 grams (11.9 ounces) and that of a male is 465 grams (16.4 ounces).
Buffleheads vary in weight throughout the year – females are at their heaviest during March, May and November, but drop to 270 and 292 grams (9.5 oz to 10.3 oz) by the end of the breeding season .
Male and female Bufflehead pair in flight
behavioral difference
During the breeding season, buffleheads often exhibit territorial behavior, with females being particularly aggressive when defending their hatchlings above the water. At this point, the males have left their summer molting grounds, so the task of protecting the young and the nest is left to the female.
Males also exhibit territorial behavior early in the breeding season, using elaborate “threat displays” to drive away intruding males or mates.
During courtship, the male shows off a potential female mate by lifting his head feathers, effectively expanding the white patch on his head to about twice its normal size. This is accompanied by wing flapping, head bobbing, and overhead flight displays, with females taking on a more passive, observational role.
Male bulldogs have never been seen on land and spend their entire lives on the water or flying between breeding, molting and wintering grounds.
The females come to the shore to build their nests and can be seen walking as they lead their young from their dens to the water’s edge for the first time. They also occasionally continue to roost in sheltered places on the lakeshore when their young are immature and depend on them for protection.
A breeding pair of Buffleheads, female (left) and male (right)
call
Neither male nor female buffleheads are particularly vocal. Females have been observed to call their pups using a low-pitched repetitive buzz’cuc-cuc-cuc‘ sound.They are also said to make a distinctive rushing soundgoo goo‘ Call during summer to check possible nesting sites.
Female buffleheads’ vocal repertoire also includes loud hummingcuc-cuc-cuc‘ as a warning call or when the nest is disturbed.
Female Buffleheads are known as hens, males, drakes
nesting and feeding
Buffleheads are active foragers, spending much of their day diving beneath the surface of lakes and ponds in search of prey. Molluscs, crustaceans and insects are the most common foods. According to one set of data, female buffaloes have been recorded to have a higher proportion of insects in their diet than males.
Buffleheads are burrow nesters, using tree cavities originally burrowed by small woodpeckers or northern flickers. Sometimes, buffleheads will use nest boxes if no suitable natural cavity can be found. Sites are checked and selected by the females, and scouting missions began as early as last summer. Eggs are laid most often in May, and the males leave their molting grounds soon after.
After spawning, the female incubates the eggs alone, leaving the nest to feed twice a day for about 80 minutes each time. Feeding trips during hatching are most common in the late afternoon, and female buffaloes will remain in the den overnight as they hatch.
28 to 33 days after spawning, the giant salamander eggs hatch and within 24 to 36 hours the juveniles are ready to leave the nest. On the morning of eclosion, the female returns to the nest. The juveniles then snap off one by one, followed by the females, who meet them on the ground below and carry them to the water.
Once out of the burrow, the pups occasionally continue to be hatched by the female, either on shore or on a semi-submerged log. Juvenile buffleads are usually abandoned by the female once they reach 5 to 6 weeks and are able to live and forage independently.
Each June, male buffleheads leave their summer lakes, where they undergo a full molt, changing from breeding to eclipsing (non-breeding) plumage. This means they are absent for most of the incubation period and do not play an active role in supporting the female in feeding or raising her young.
A small flock of two male and two female buffalo ducks
Can Female Buffleheads Raise Their Children Alone?
Female buffleheads can and do raise young alone. Males typically leave their summer molting grounds each June and take no active role in nest building or raising young.
From scouting for possible nest sites nearly a year before spawning, to final siting, hatching and eventual winging, and accompanying young for early wading, female buffalo go through all of these stages without a mate.
What color are female bulldogs?
Female buffleheads are predominantly grey-brown. Their backs are a darker brown, turning to a lighter gray on their chests and underparts. They have prominent white oval cheek patches on their brown-black heads and a rather large white band on their brown wings.
Closeup of a young bufflehead duckling
Do Female Buffleheads Call?
Female bulldogs have been known to use a low buzz to communicate with their pupscuc-cuc-cuc‘ Salutation. When separated from ducklings, a similar but louder call is made to indicate distress or alarm.
Females can be heard snapping “fast” when searching for potential nests in late summer ahead of the ensuing breeding season.goo goo‘ Salutation.
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I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.