May 5, 2013 - Male Bufflehead

I’ve always thought of the male Bufflehead as a black and white duck. But after taking these photos at the Coon Rapids Dam (on the Mississippi River in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities area) I’ve seen the light. More accurately, I’ve seen how the angle of the light affects the color of the head feathers on this duck.

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These photos show the iridescence of the head feathers. Depending on how the light is hitting them, they can look purple, green, or blue. Buffleheads are small ducks, 13 to 16 inches long. They nest in the boreal and aspen forests of Canada. According to the book Birds of North America, they tend to nest in holes made by Northern Flickers.

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This photo makes the darker feathers on the back of the head look like they stick out farther than the white ones.

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That effect is even more pronounced in this photo. It makes me wonder if puffing out the head feathers is some kind of display, possibly involved with mating behavior.

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When he lifts his head up, it looks like he’s wearing a muff.

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This photo from the rear shows the sharp definition between the white and dark feathers.

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