| Smaller than a mallard, the tufted duck is our commonest
diving duck although they only colonised Britain 150 years ago. The male
is black with white flanks and belly with the characteristic smal tuft or
crest drooping on the back of its head. The female is dark brown, pale brown
on flanks with a far smaller crest and sometimes shows a narrow white band
at base of bill. Both sexes have yellow eyes and a white stripe across the
back of the wings which shows in flight. Adult birds can dive to 7 metres
or more searching for their main food of molluscs although they also eat
insects, seeds and plants especially when young. They are resident throughout
the year with our own population being swelled by migration from Icelend
and northwest Europe during the winter. |
