# Long-tailed duck (*Clangula hyemalis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/long-tailed-duck  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis), also called Oldsquaw, is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup and the family Anatidae of the order Anseriformes. It is a small, migratory, aquatic bird of wetland habitats, weighing 871 g with a wingspan of 71 cm. The long-tailed duck is an aquatic predator and a carnivore, with a geographic range of 9,492,000 km². It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and lays one clutch of 7.5 eggs per year, incubated for 25 days.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 705 g – 871 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 71 cm |
| Lifespan | 15.6 years |
| Diet | Aquatic predator |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 22.7 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 25 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 7.5 |
| Age at maturity | 24 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Aquatic |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Anseriformes
- family: Anatidae
- genus: Clangula
- species: *Clangula hyemalis* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Anas brachyrhynchos*, *Anas glacialis*, *Anas hyemalis*, *Anas longicauda*, *Anas longicauda*, *Anas longicauda islandica*, *Anas miclonia*, *Anas sawka*, *Clangula brachyrhynchos*, *Clangula faberi*, *Clangula megauros*, *Clangula musica*, *Crimonessa glacialis*, *Fuligula glacialis*, *Glaucion hyemalis*, *Haralda glacialis*, *Harelda glacialis*, *Harelda hiemalis*, *Harelda musica*, *Nyroca hyemalis*, *Pagonetta glacialis*, *Platypus faberi*, *Platypus glacialis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the long-tailed duck?

The long-tailed duck is a bird in the waterfowl subgroup, belonging to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.

### How heavy is the long-tailed duck?

The long-tailed duck weighs 871 g, and the lowest value reported by our sources is 705 g. Its wingspan is 71 cm.

### What does the long-tailed duck eat?

The long-tailed duck is an aquatic predator and is classed as a carnivore.

### Is the long-tailed duck endangered?

The long-tailed duck is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How long does the long-tailed duck live?

The long-tailed duck has a lifespan of 15.6 years, and our sources report up to 22.7 years.

### How many eggs does the long-tailed duck lay?

The long-tailed duck lays 7.5 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year and an incubation period of 25 days.

### Is the long-tailed duck migratory?

Yes, the long-tailed duck is migratory and lives an aquatic lifestyle in wetland habitats.

### Who named the long-tailed duck?

Linnaeus named it in 1758, written as Clangula hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/long-tailed-duck