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70birds

That Nest in Birdhouses

70birds

That Nest in Birdhouses

70birds

That Nest in Birdhouses

Bufflehead

(Butterball)

Bucephala albeola

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Bucephala
Species: albeola

La. anser goose
La. forma form, shape, kind
Gr. anous foolish
La. anas duck
La. –idae appearance, resemblance

Gr. bous ox
Gr. kephale head
Gr. boukephalos bull-headed, large-headed
La. albus white

Painting of a bufflehead pair in a large lake with flying duck flocks and a distant shore in the background.

About fifteen inches long. Sharp contrasting black and white. Black crown, face, neck and back. White patch behind each eye and white underside.

Buffleheads breed in the northern regions across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec and south to Wyoming and Northern California.

Buffleheads breed in the northern regions, Alaska, across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec, the furthest south being in the mountainous regions of Wyoming and Northern California. They winter in Alaska, British Columbia, across southern Canada, throughout the U.S. and south to Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Buffleheads, being goldeneyes, dive with ease, easily overtaking fish. They also eat crustaceans, insects and their larvae, other invertebrates and aquatic plants.

They have a thick fatty layer, giving them one of their nicknames “butter ball”, and which enables them to endure cold weather well until ice blocks them from their food source, forcing them to fly south in small flocks.

Buffleheads build a thick cushion of feathers and down often in aspen and poplar tree cavities bored out, used and abandoned by flickers or in decaying tree and stump hollows near ponds and streams.

Bufflehead standing on a grassy outcropping calling out.

Females lay six to fourteen ivory or olive white eggs, which hatch after about one month of incubation. Parents lead ducklings to water within a day or two after hatching and immediately begin learning to swim and dive for insect larvae, minnows and snails. They learn to fly at about two months.

Bufflehead Nest Box

The bufflehead nest box has a 7″ by 7″ floor, 16″ inside floor to ceiling, 2 7/8″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to the top of the hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof. Make a Side Door.

Please do not attract duck families and leave them vulnerable to predators. Significant reduction in predation has been achieved through proper location, installation and protection from predators.

Duck nest box management best practices have so drastically reduced duckling mortality that it's probably unwise to do it any other way. It's even easier. Metal posts, cone guards, near the water, above ground, within reach, side opening doors. No ladders or boats. Easier, safer, best success rates.

Visit the Wood Duck Society. Follow their tested and proven best practices.

Visit the Bufflehead Nest Box Page.

Bufflehead Nest Box

View or print bufflehead nest box plans.

View/Print Plans

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Bufflehead

(Butterball)

Bucephala albeola

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Bucephala
Species: albeola

La. anser goose
La. forma form, shape, kind
Gr. anous foolish
La. anas duck
La. idae appearance, resemblance

Gr. bous ox
Gr. kephale head
Gr. boukephalos bull-headed, large-headed
La. albus white

Painting of a bufflehead pair in a large lake with flying duck flocks and a distant shore in the background.

About fifteen inches long. Sharp contrasting black and white. Black crown, face, neck and back. White patch behind each eye and white underside.

Buffleheads breed in the northern regions across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec and south to Wyoming and Northern California.

Buffleheads breed in the northern regions, Alaska, across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec, the furthest south being in the mountainous regions of Wyoming and Northern California. They winter in Alaska, British Columbia, across southern Canada, throughout the U.S. and south to Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Buffleheads, being goldeneyes, dive with ease, easily overtaking fish. They also eat crustaceans, insects and their larvae, other invertebrates and aquatic plants.

They have a thick fatty layer, giving them one of their nicknames “butter ball”, and which enables them to endure cold weather well until ice blocks them from their food source, forcing them to fly south in small flocks.

Buffleheads build a thick cushion of feathers and down often in aspen and poplar tree cavities bored out, used and abandoned by flickers or in decaying tree and stump hollows near ponds and streams.

Bufflehead standing on a grassy outcropping appearing to call out.

Females lay six to fourteen ivory or olive white eggs, which hatch after about one month of incubation. Parents lead ducklings to water within a day or two after hatching and immediately begin learning to swim and dive for insect larvae, minnows and snails. They learn to fly at about two months.

Bufflehead Nest Box

The bufflehead nest box has a 7″ by 7″ floor, 16″ inside floor to ceiling, 2 7/8″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to the top of the hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof. Make a Side Door.

Please do not attract duck families and leave them vulnerable to predators. Significant reduction in predation has been achieved through proper location, installation and protection from predators.

Duck nest box management best practices have so drastically reduced duckling mortality that it's probably unwise to do it any other way. It's even easier. Metal posts, cone guards, near the water, above ground, within reach, side opening doors. No ladders or boats. Easier, safer, best success rates.

Visit the Wood Duck Society. Follow their tested and proven best practices.

Visit the Bufflehead Nest Box Page.

Bufflehead Nest Box

View or print Bufflehead Nest Box Plans.

View/Print Plans

Home            Birds             Birdhouses            Birdhouse Plans          Birdhouse Forum

Bufflehead

(Butterball)

Birds  |  Birdhouses  |  Plans  |  Home

Painting of a bufflehead pair in a large lake with flying duck flocks and a distant shore in the background.

Bucephala albeola

Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Bucephala
Species: albeola

La. anser goose
La. forma form, shape, kind
Gr. anous foolish
La. anas duck
La. idae appearance, resemblance

Gr. bous ox
Gr. kephale head
Gr. boukephalos bull-headed, large-headed
La. albus white

About fifteen inches long. Sharp contrasting black and white. Black crown, face, neck and back. White patch behind each eye and white underside.

Buffleheads breed in the northern regions across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec and south to Wyoming and Northern California.

Buffleheads breed in the northern regions, Alaska, across Canada to the lower Hudson Bay Region and Quebec, the furthest south being in the mountainous regions of Wyoming and Northern California. They winter in Alaska, British Columbia, across southern Canada, throughout the U.S. and south to Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Buffleheads, being goldeneyes, dive with ease, easily overtaking fish. They also eat crustaceans, insects and their larvae, other invertebrates and aquatic plants.

Bufflehead standing on a grassy outcropping appearing to call out.

They have a thick fatty layer, giving them one of their nicknames “butter ball”, and which enables them to endure cold weather well until ice blocks them from their food source, forcing them to fly south in small flocks.

Buffleheads build a thick cushion of feathers and down often in aspen and poplar tree cavities bored out, used and abandoned by flickers or in decaying tree and stump hollows near ponds and streams.

Females lay six to fourteen ivory or olive white eggs, which hatch after about one month of incubation. Parents lead ducklings to water within a day or two after hatching and immediately begin learning to swim and dive for insect larvae, minnows and snails. They learn to fly at about two months.

Visit the Bufflehead Nest Box Page.

Bufflehead Nest Box

The bufflehead nest box has a 7″ by 7″ floor, 16″ inside floor to ceiling, 2 7/8″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to the top of the hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.

Make a Side Opening Door for easy access.

View or print Bufflehead Nest Box Plans.

Bufflehead Nest Box Plans

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