The long-tailed duck is a medium-sized seaduck and one of the most abundant ducks in the high Arctic. It spends most of its time below the surface of the water and can dive down to depths of 55 metres. Unlike most diving ducks, it uses its partially folded wings to propel itself under water.
It has the most complex moult of any species of waterfowl changing its plumage three times a year and continuously from April to October as it undergoes a series of partial moults. It is a vulnerable species, threatened by habitat loss, oil pollution, hunting, and entanglement in fishing nets.
Wintering birds: 11,000
Family: Ducks, geese & swans
In breeding plumage, adult male long-tailed ducks have black upperparts with buff edges to the feathers, and very long, black central rectrices. The breast and underwing coverts are black, and the rest of the underparts are white.
The head is black with a grey-brown face that forms a patch around the eye and there is a white eye-ring that extends to the ear coverts. The bill is black with a broad, subterminal pink or red band, the eyes are orange, and the legs and webbed feet are grey.
In winter plumage, male long-tailed ducks have black upperparts with long, pointed pale grey feathers on the back. The breast and underwing coverts are black, and the rest of the underparts are pale grey.
The head and neck and white, the grey face patch is still visible, but the eye-ring does not extend to the ear coverts. There is a large black spot that extends from the cheeks to down the sides of the neck and the lower foreneck is black.
In breeding plumage, female long-tailed ducks have a brown back with buff edges to the feathers. The breast is brown and the rest of the underparts are white. The upper tail is black and the undertail is white. She does not have the long tail plumes.
The head and neck are dark with a white eye-ring that extends behind the eye to form a white stripe down to the sides of the neck. The bill is black, the eyes are orange, and the legs and webbed feet are grey.
In winter plumage, females have a grey-brown back and breast. The rest of the underparts are white. The head and neck are white with a dark brown cheek patch.
Males may also show variations in plumage during eclipse and spring when the bill turns black.
Juvenile long-tailed ducks have grey-brown upperparts with buff edges on the feathers of the back and upperwing coverts. The breast and upper belly are grey-brown and the rest of the underparts are white. The head is dark brown with a broad white eye-rind that extends to the ear coverts, and a white nape and neck collar. The bill is blue-grey.
Long-tailed ducks breed in May and June and produce 1 brood a season. They breed in loose groups or solitary pairs. The nest is a shallow depression in the ground in the open or among vegetation near water, lined with down, grass, and other plant material.
Long-tailed ducks lay 5-9 pale green eggs which are incubated by the female alone for 24-29 days. The male leaves soon after laying, returning to the coast for moulting. Chicks are covered in dark chestnut down above and white below, with a white head and eye patch and dark breast band. Soon after hatching they follow the female to water. The fledge 35-40 days later.
During breeding season, long-tailed ducks eat mainly aquatic insects as well as crustaceans, molluscs, fish eggs, and aquatic plants. In winter it eats mainly molluscs and crustaceans, and occasionally small fish.
It forages by diving and swimming underwater, propelling itself with semi-open wings and its feet.
Long-tailed ducks can be seen in the UK from October to April. Look out for them near the coasts of eastern and southern England and northern Scotland.
Long-tailed ducks are known in North America as oldsquaws although the name has started to fall out of favour due to the negative connotations associated with the word ‘squaw’ and fears that it may be offensive to some Native American tribes who are involved in conservation work around the species.
