Description:

A sea duck with a dark triangular head, golden eye, peaked forehead, very short bill and rather long tail. Stocky, with bulbous head. Male has dark green head, with large white patch on lores. Female and immature male have brown head, indistinct whitish collar, and grey body, with white wing-patch usually visible at rest.

Distribution:

Rare passage migrant through major waterways and lakes all across Gilgit-Baltistan. Landing in the region during cloudy/harsh weather, at lakes, marshes, rivers and streams with fringe vegetation up to 3500m, avoiding turbulent waters.

Behavior:

Feeds mostly by diving, occasionally dabbles and upends in shallow waters, especially young during first few days after hatching. Most foraging is by day. Chiefly eats aquatic invertebrates (molluscs, crustaceans, worms, insects and larvae), amphibians, small fish and their spawn. Although primarily animal, some plant material is taken.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Common Goldeneye in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Common Goldeneye

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.