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Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalisOrder: ANSERIFORMES Family: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)
Codes: Common Name: LTDU Scientific Name: CLAHYE ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175147
Least Concern
 
Long-tailed Duck: The winter adult Long-tailed Duck has a white head, buff mask, and black cheeks. The neck, breast, and back are black and the flanks, belly, and undertail coverts are white. The tail is black with long, pintail-like central feathers.
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Overview

Long-tailed Duck: Small diving duck, black upperparts, head, neck, breast, wings; back is black and brown mottled; white flanks, belly, undertail coverts. Black tail has long, pintail-like central feathers that are often submerged when swimming. Pale gray mask, black bill with dark pink saddle.

Range and Habitat

Long-tailed Duck: Breeds from Alaska east across most of northern Canada. Spends winters along the Pacific coast from the Bering Sea south to California; from Greenland, eastern North America, and Labrador south, including the Great Lakes, to South Carolina. Preferred habitats include a variety of coastal waters, mostly deeper waters of straits, bays, harbors, channels, and fiords. Other habitats include estuaries, offshore waters, mudflats, and rarely, large lakes and rivers.

Topo Map: Duck-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"ow-owdle-ow, ow-owdle-ow"

Interesting Facts

 A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Long-tailed Duck

Related Birds

Northern Pintail
Surf Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Black Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Harlequin Duck
Smew
Steller's Eider
Barrow's Goldeneye
King Eider
.
Family Diving Ducks (Anatidae)_blue
Species Clangula hyemalis
Length15 - 22 Inches
Wingspan28.5 Inches

Long-tailed Duck

Long-tailed Duck: Small diving duck, black upperparts, head, neck, breast, wings; back is black and brown mottled; white flanks, belly, undertail coverts. Black tail has long, pintail-like central feathers that are often submerged when swimming. Pale gray mask, black bill with dark pink saddle.

● Song: "ow-owdle-ow, ow-owdle-ow"

● Foraging & Feeding: Long-tailed Duck: Feeds on aquatic plants, shrimp, and insects; dives from the surface to forage underwater.

● Breeding & nesting: Long-tailed Duck: Five to eleven olive buff, olive gray, or green yellow eggs are laid in a hollow of grass and down hidden in low vegetation or among rocks. Incubation ranges from 23 to 25 days and is carried out by the female. Young start to fly at 35 to 40 days.

● Similar species: Long-tailed Duck: Northern Pintail lacks white face patch.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight often with erratic side-to-side turns of body.
Long-tailed Duck Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Long-tailed Duck: Breeds from Alaska east across most of northern Canada. Spends winters along the Pacific coast from the Bering Sea south to California; from Greenland, eastern North America, and Labrador south, including the Great Lakes, to South Carolina. Preferred habitats include a variety of coastal waters, mostly deeper waters of straits, bays, harbors, channels, and fiords. Other habitats include estuaries, offshore waters, mudflats, and rarely, large lakes and rivers.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationAbundant
MigrationMigratory
Weight33.6 Ounces
Duck-like BodyX
Undertail covertsX
Small feathers that cover the areas where the retrices (tail feathers) attach to the rump.
UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX