Bufflehead
Bucephala albeola (Linnaeus, 1758)
The bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 334.8 g to 481 g and live up to 14.9 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the bufflehead
- Weight
- 334.8 g – 481 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 53 cm – 61 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 14.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 18.7 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 30 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8.4src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 24 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the bufflehead?
Where does the bufflehead live?
Not recorded
What is the bufflehead?
The bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is a small sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Anas albeola.
From the Wikipedia article “Bufflehead” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bufflehead&oldid=1380598838), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the bufflehead endangered?
The bufflehead is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the bufflehead classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusBucephala
- SpeciesBucephala albeola (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Anas albeola, Anas bucephala, Anas rustica, Bucephala albeola fossilis, Charitonetta albeola, Clangula albeola, Fuligula albeola, Glaucionetta albeola
Other names and names in other languages (56)
- Buffel-headed duckEnglish
- زغباء الرأسArabic
- بط أزغب الرأسArabic
- হাঁহAssamese
- Малка звънаркаBulgarian
- Garv kilpenn gwennBreton
- morell capblancCatalan
- hohol bělavýCzech
- Hwyaden BenfrasWelsh
- BøffelandDanish
- BüffelkopfenteGerman
- grandkapa klanguloEsperanto
- Pato monjaSpanish
- Pato pintoSpanish
- Porrón albeolaSpanish
- sõnnpea-sõtkasEstonian
- pikkutelkkäFinnish
- Petit GarrotFrench
- garrot albéoleFrench
- BuabhallachIrish
- Órshúileach ceannsceadachIrish
- Thunnag chione-roauyrManx
- עבראש לבנוניHebrew
- עבראש בופאלוHebrew
- američka patka batoglavicaCroatian
- fehérfejű kerceréceHungarian
- HjálmöndIcelandic
- Quattrocchi minoreItalian
- ヒメハジロJapanese
- 꼬마오리Korean
- mažoji klykuolėLithuanian
- baltakuodė klykuolėLithuanian
- mazā niraLatvian
- buffelkopeendDutch
- WaabishibensOjibwa
- Pato Kabez di BagònPapiamento
- Patu Kabes di BagònPapiamento
- gągołekPolish
- pato-de-touca-brancaPortuguese
- olho-dourado-de-toucaPortuguese
- Graţă sunătoare americanăRomanian
- ГоловастикRussian
- Малый гогольRussian
- Гоголь-головастикRussian
- UhcačoaðgiNorthern Sami
- uhcačoađgiNorthern Sami
- hlaholka maláSlovak
- mali zvonecSlovenian
- Beloglava patka dupljašicaSerbian
- buffelhuvudSwedish
- ak yanaklı ördekTurkish
- Гоголь малийUkrainian
- Малий гогольUkrainian
- 巨頭鵲鴨Chinese
- 白枕鵲鴨Chinese
- 白枕鹊鸭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the bufflehead
Other species in the same genus Bucephala.
Common goldeneye
Bucephala clangula
Barrow's goldeneye
Bucephala islandica
CompareBufflehead vs Common goldeneyeBufflehead vs Barrow's goldeneye
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the bufflehead?
An adult bufflehead weighs 334.8 g – 481 g and has a wingspan of 53 cm – 61 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the bufflehead endangered?
The bufflehead is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the bufflehead live?
The bufflehead has a recorded lifespan of 14.9 years.
What kind of animal is the bufflehead?
The bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bufflehead
“Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/bufflehead.
@misc{bufflehead_2026,
title = {Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/bufflehead},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}