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Gallery Ducks Bufflehead (Clangula hyemalis)  Bufflehead
(Clangula hyemalis)  Bufflehead by Gary Luhm Bufflehead by Gary
Luhm  The Bufflehead is one of the smallest ducks, 13-15".  The
male is mostly white, with black back, puffy head, steep
forehead, and small bill.  The head has a large white patch from
the eye around to the back of the head.  Large white wing
patches show in flight.  The female is duller, with a small,
elongated white patch on each side of the head.   Bufflehead
nest in woodlands near small lakes and ponds.  During migration
and in winter, they are found also on sheltered bays, rivers and
lakes.  The male is sometimes confused with a male Hooded
Merganser which has a fan-shaped white patch behind the eye, but
the Hooded Merganser has dark sides, a spikelike bill, and is
larger.  The handsome, hardy, little Bufflehead is another
species that is peculiar to North America.  It was originally
called "buffalo-head" because of its disprop