On Seedskadee NWR, common goldeneyes are abundant during the winter months on open portions of the Green River. Mixed in with the common goldeneyes, are a few Barrow's goldeneye. They can be difficult to distinguish from the common goldeneye, but with a close view or the aid of a spotting scope, the crescent teardrop between the eye and the bill seperates the Barrow's drake from a common goldeneye drake, which has an oval or round patch instead. Depending on the lighting, the Barrow's drake has a purplish head while the Common is green. They appear to concentrate on the abundant crayfish for a primary food source during the winter on Seedskadee NWR.

Cool Facts:

The Barrow's Goldeneye is rather long-lived for a duck, with one individual reaching 18 years of age. Most females do not breed until they are three years old.

Like the Common Goldeneye, 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.

For a species with such widely separated populations, it is perhaps surprising that the Barrow's Goldeneye shows little variation from place to place. Those breeding in North America are essentially identical on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Female Barrow's Goldeneyes breeding in Iceland do not get as extensively yellow bills as the North American birds, but have only a yellow or orangish band on the outer third of the otherwise dusky bill.

<a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barrows_Goldeneye/lifehistory" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barrows_Goldeneye/lifehistory</a>