This common diving duck is certainly a bird that lives up to its name, with the males sporting a long black tuft of feathers down the back of their heads. You can find them in ponds and lakes, where they forage along the bottom for plants and insects.
The tufted duck is a species that lives in the Solent all year round, with numbers being boosted in the Winter with migrants from Northern Europe.
Like most species of duck, the male and female look different. Males, as pictured, sport a dark head with long crest and yellow eyes, as well as a dark body with striking white sides. The females instead are more of a dark brown colour, still with bright yellow eyes and a short head tuft.
You can find tufted ducks in lakes, ponds and estuaries around the Solent.
Currently, they are green listed in the UK.
Although not listed in the Solent’s Special Protection Areas, tufted ducks are still important for the coastal ecosystem and form part of the non-breeding waterbird assemblages which these regions are protected for.
Their scientific name means ‘sooty throat’.
