Common Goldeneye

Female birds often get a short shrift in art and photography. I was surprised that I have very few decent photos of Common Goldeneyes of either sex, and this one is my only closeup of a hen. The females can be difficult to tell apart from the similar Barrow’s Goldeneye, but the Common can be recognized by their larger bills usually being more black than yellow. A few of my other photos of both species can be found in this previous post. I took this photo several years ago in Duluth, Minnesota.