Tufted duck
Aythya fuligula
Misha Kuzmin · Ozurgeti, Guria Georgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 40–46 cm; male 750–1030 g, female 630–910 g
- Diet
- Molluscs, crustaceans, water insects, seeds
- Status in Georgia
- Breeding bird, migrant and winter visitor
- Recorded regions
- Samtskhe-Javakheti; Abkhazia; Kvemo Kartli; Adjara; Mtskheta-Mtianeti; Tbilisi
- Habitat
- Lakes, reservoirs, lagoons and rivers
- Family
- Anatidae
- Conservation
- Global LC (2025); Georgia LC (2024)
The tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) is a small diving duck: it is 40–46 cm long, the male weighs 750–1030 g and the female 630–910 g. It finds its food by diving. Its Georgian and English names refer to the tuft hanging from the back of the male's head. It is harmless to people. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a breeding bird, a migrant and a winter visitor. In winter and early spring it is seen on lakes, reservoirs and coastal lagoons, and in spring and summer on the lakes of Javakheti. Most records come from Samtskhe-Javakheti, Abkhazia and Kvemo Kartli. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Least Concern (LC).
Identification
Tufted duck: how to identify it
A small, round-headed diving duck. The male is all black apart from white flanks, with golden yellow eyes and a thin tuft hanging from the back of the head. The female is brown with paler flanks and is more easily confused with other diving ducks.
The male is black with white flanks. It has a blue-grey bill, golden yellow eyes and a thin tuft hanging from the back of the head, which gives the species its name.
The female is brown with paler flanks. Some have white at the base of the bill, which makes them look like a greater scaup (Aythya marila), but the white is never as broad as on a scaup.
The greater scaup has no tuft and a different call. The female tufted duck gives a harsh, growling "karr", usually in flight. The male is mostly silent and whistles only during courtship.
Colour
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It breeds on lowland lakes that are rich in food and 3–5 m deep, and avoids lakes deeper than 15 m. It prefers open water with islands and plenty of vegetation along the shores. It lives on large freshwater lakes, ponds, reservoirs, old gravel pits and quiet stretches of wide, slow rivers. In winter it is found on large lakes and reservoirs and on sheltered coasts, brackish lagoons and estuaries. It avoids strong waves unless the fresh waters have frozen. It ranges from sea level to 2,400 m. In Georgia most records come from Samtskhe-Javakheti, mainly from the lakes of Ninotsminda Municipality, from April to August. In Abkhazia it is seen at different times of year on Inkit Lake at Pitsunda and near Sukhumi and Gagra. In Kvemo Kartli it winters from November to April in Gardabani Municipality, on the Tbilisi Sea and on Kumisi Lake. In Adjara it occurs in the Chorokhi delta and near Batumi from autumn to spring. In Mtskheta-Mtianeti it is seen just north of Tbilisi from November to March, and in Tbilisi on Lisi Lake in winter. Shida Kartli and Guria have only single records.
The tufted duck map combines public iNaturalist observations from Georgia. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Six regions have enough records: Samtskhe-Javakheti, Abkhazia, Kvemo Kartli, Adjara, Mtskheta-Mtianeti and Tbilisi.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
It finds food mainly by diving, sometimes upends from the surface and sometimes feeds at night. It is omnivorous. Its main food is molluscs, especially mussels and the zebra mussel, along with crustaceans and water insects. It also eats grain and the seeds and green parts of water plants. Its range is thought to have grown partly because gravel pits created new open water and freshwater mussels spread.
In central and north-west Europe it is mainly resident, while other populations are migratory. It arrives on its breeding grounds from late April. It breeds in single pairs or loose groups: it does not form colonies, but hundreds of pairs may nest at one site, with nests 7–11 m apart. Once the female starts incubating, the males gather in flocks to moult and cannot fly for 3–4 weeks between late June and early September. The females moult their flight feathers 1–2 months later. The autumn migration begins in September and the spring migration in late February. In winter it is very gregarious and forms flocks of several thousand birds. The female builds the nest, usually beside water and preferably on an island: a scrape in the ground lined with grass, reeds and down. Sometimes it nests inside gull and tern colonies for protection from predators. She lays 8–11 greenish-grey eggs and incubates them alone for about 25 days (23–28 days). The chicks feed themselves as soon as they hatch, and the female looks after them and keeps them warm. They fledge at 45–50 days, and the birds usually first breed at one year old.
Globally the tufted duck is rated Least Concern (LC, 2025). There are 1,330,000–1,730,000 mature birds (2023), and the number is suspected to be decreasing. In Europe it has declined moderately over three generations. On the breeding grounds the threats are oil pollution, drainage, peat extraction and changes in land use, such as more intensive farming. Breeding success is lowered by leisure use of the water, noise from urban building work, hunting, and American mink on islands, which destroy nests. It is also susceptible to avian influenza. It is a game bird: it is hunted for sport in Denmark, Italy and Iran, for example, and commercially in Iran. The species is listed in Appendix II of CMS and in Annexes II and III of the EU Birds Directive. It is also covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA). The 2024 Georgian checklist also rates it Least Concern (LC) in Georgia.
Stephen Flynn · Giorgi Natsvlishvili · Misha Kuzmin · Andrey Moskvichev · Boris Georgi · Alexander Abuladze
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. The 2024 Georgian checklist lists it as a breeding bird, a migrant and a winter visitor. It is seen most often in winter and early spring.
In spring and summer on the lakes of Javakheti, and in winter on the Tbilisi Sea, Lisi and Kumisi lakes, in the Chorokhi delta and on the coastal lakes of Abkhazia.
The male is black with white flanks, golden yellow eyes and a tuft hanging from the back of the head. The female is brown with paler flanks. The greater scaup has no tuft.
It is 40–46 cm long. The male weighs 750–1030 g and the female 630–910 g.
Mainly molluscs, crustaceans and water insects, which it finds by diving. It also eats grain and the seeds of water plants.
On the ground beside water, often on an island. The female lays 8–11 eggs and incubates them for about 25 days.
The tufted duck is harmless to people. Both globally and in Georgia it is rated Least Concern (LC), although its numbers are decreasing. The species is covered by AEWA.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
