Common goldeneye
Bucephala clangula (Linnaeus, 1758)
The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes. It falls in the small size class, with a representative adult body mass of 918.6 g, reported values from 740.4 g to 1 kg, and a wingspan of 70 cm.
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Quick facts about the common goldeneye
This migratory bird lives an aquatic lifestyle in wetland habitat and is an aquatic predator at the carnivore trophic level. It lays one clutch of 9.5 eggs per year with an incubation period of 29.5 days, reaches sexual maturity at 2 years, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- Weight
- 740.4 g – 1 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 70 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 16.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 18.4 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 29.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 9.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc 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 common goldeneye?
Photos of the common goldeneye
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common goldeneye live?
Not recorded
What is the common goldeneye?
The common goldeneye or simply goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek boukephalos ("bullheaded", from bous, "bull" and kephale, "head"), a reference to the bulbous head shape of the bufflehead. The species name is derived from the Latin clangere ("to resound").
Common goldeneyes are aggressive and territorial ducks, and have elaborate courtship displays.
From the Wikipedia article “Common goldeneye” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_goldeneye&oldid=1374022294), 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.
What does the common goldeneye sound like?
Is the common goldeneye endangered?
The common goldeneye 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 common goldeneye classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusBucephala
- SpeciesBucephala clangula (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Anas bucephala, Anas glaucion, Anas hyemalis, Clangula bimaculata, Clangula chrysophthalmos, Clangula chrysopthalmos, Clangula clangula, Clangula glaucion, Clangula glaucion, Clangula leucomelas, Clangula peregrina, Clangula vulgaris, Fuligula clangula, Glaucion clangula, Glaucionetta clangula, Nyroca clangula
Other names and names in other languages (110)
- ButterballEnglish
- CobheadEnglish
- European goldeneyeEnglish
- GoldeneyeEnglish
- WhistlerEnglish
- ذهبية العينArabic
- بط ذهبي العينArabic
- ذهبية العين الشائعةArabic
- بط ذهبي العين الشائعArabic
- Cabezudo de lentesAragonese
- coríu calón de güeyu marielluAsturian
- Adi meşəördəyiAzerbaijani
- БоғанBashkir
- вогальBelarusian
- вогаліцаBelarusian
- гагаліцаBelarusian
- Гогаль звычайныBelarusian
- Звычайны гогальBelarusian
- ЗвънаркаBulgarian
- Обикновена звънаркаBulgarian
- kiihtsipimisa'aiSiksiká
- পাতি সোনাচোখBangla
- Garv ladad aourBreton
- Garv lagad aourBreton
- morell d'ulls grocsCatalan
- АлашоэMari
- АлалыдыMari
- Вӑрман кӑвакалӗChuvash
- hohol severníCzech
- Hwyaden lygad aurWelsh
- hwyaden lygad-aurWelsh
- Hwyaid Llygad-AurWelsh
- hvinandDanish
- SchellenteGerman
- ΒουκεφάλαGreek
- Ευρωπαϊκή ΒουκεφάλαGreek
- (Ευρωπαϊκή) ΒουκεφάλαGreek
- orokula klanguloEsperanto
- Pato chillónSpanish
- Porrón osculadoSpanish
- sõtkasEstonian
- Murgilari urrebegiBasque
- اردک چشم طلاییPersian
- telkkäFinnish
- súgontFaroese
- HvinontFaroese
- Garrot à œil d'orFrench
- Garrot à oeil d'orFrench
- garrot à oeil dorFrench
- Garrot à oeil d’orFrench
- Garrot à œil d’orFrench
- BralanNorthern Frisian
- órshúileachScottish Gaelic
- Lach chinn uaineScottish Gaelic
- OllodouradoGalician
- Thunnag hooill-airheyManx
- עבראשHebrew
- עבראש ירוקHebrew
- patka batoglavicaCroatian
- kerceréceHungarian
- ՍոնաբադArmenian
- HvinöndIcelandic
- quattrocchiItalian
- Quattrocchi comuneItalian
- ホオジロガモJapanese
- СусылдақKazakh
- 흰뺨오리Korean
- Lagas owrCornish
- SchellintLuxembourgish
- klykuolėLithuanian
- paprastoji klykuolėLithuanian
- tq̓ʷačlut
- gaigalaLatvian
- четириока паткаMacedonian
- Алаг шунгаачMongolian
- Naalʼeełí binááʼ łitsooígííNavajo
- kvinandNorwegian Bokmål
- brilduikerDutch
- Bikwakoshib (Gokooshib)Ojibwa
- Telkyolo
- Pilé-non.nettePicard
- gągołPolish
- gągoł krzykliwyPolish
- عام سنہری اکھWestern Panjabi
- olho-douradoPortuguese
- olho-dourado-comumPortuguese
- pato-d'olho-douradoPortuguese
- Pato-olho-d'ouroPortuguese
- raţa sunătoareRomanian
- Graţă sunătoareRomanian
- Rață sunătoareRomanian
- Гоголь обыкновенныйRussian
- обыкновенный гогольRussian
- Чернеть крикливаRusyn
- ОрулуосYakut
- ČoaðgiNorthern Sami
- čoađgiNorthern Sami
- hlaholka severskáSlovak
- zvonecSlovenian
- rosa me katër syAlbanian
- Patka dupljašicaSerbian
- Патка дупљашицаSerbian
- knipaSwedish
- altıngözTurkish
- ГогольUkrainian
- Гоголь звичайнийUkrainian
- гоголь зеленоголовийUkrainian
- 鵲鴨Chinese
- 普通鵲鴨Chinese
- 鹊鸭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common goldeneye
Other species in the same genus Bucephala.
Bufflehead
Bucephala albeola
Barrow's goldeneye
Bucephala islandica
CompareCommon goldeneye vs BuffleheadCommon goldeneye vs Barrow's goldeneye
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common goldeneye?
The common goldeneye is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, part of the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
How heavy is the common goldeneye?
Its representative adult body mass is 918.6 g, with reported values from 740.4 g to 1 kg. Its wingspan is 70 cm.
What does the common goldeneye eat?
The common goldeneye is an aquatic predator and is classed as a carnivore.
What habitat does the common goldeneye live in?
It lives in wetland habitat with an aquatic lifestyle, and it is migratory.
Is the common goldeneye endangered?
No. The common goldeneye is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the common goldeneye live?
Its lifespan is given as 16.92 years, with values up to 18.42 years reported by our sources.
How many eggs does the common goldeneye lay?
It lays 9.5 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 29.5 days.
Who named the common goldeneye?
It was named Bucephala clangula by Linnaeus in 1758, written as (Linnaeus, 1758).
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). Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-goldeneye
“Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-goldeneye.
@misc{common_goldeneye_2026,
title = {Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-goldeneye},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}