Long-tailed Duck (male)

Description:

Long-tailed Duck breeds in the Arctic and winters along both coasts of North America. Of all diving ducks, the Long-tailed Duck spends the most time under water relative to time on the surface. When it is foraging it is submerged three to four times as much as it is on top of the wate

Habitat:

Breeds in ponds, streams, and other arctic wetlands. Winters on open ocean or on large freshwater lakes.

Notes:

The 2014 State of the Birds listed Long-tailed Duck as a Common Bird in Steep Decline. Numbers difficult to census because of offshore wintering areas. Not widely hunted. Entanglement in fishing nets killed tens of thousands of Long-tailed Ducks in the 1950s, especially in the Great Lakes; recent statistics and trends on by-catch of Long-tailed Duck have not been compiled.