The Bufflehead is a very small duck, with the males weighing a pound and females smaller still.
Many of you hunters will know these as “butterballs.” This is because, in the fall, they store up a large amount of fat for use during the long migration.
The male bird usually is seen as black and white. On the water, it is black on top, white below. In flight, a lot of white shows up—on the back and on the wings.
He has a prominent white patch on the back of his head, which separates him from the Goldeneyes and Scaups.