| Barrow's Goldeneye Identification Tips |
| (Credit: U. S. Geological Survey) |
| General
Information - Medium-sized diving duck - Yellow eye - Steeply sloped forehead with flatter crown and peak at forward part of crown - Small, stubby bill - White patches on the secondaries and secondary coverts visible in flight - Juvenile similar to adult female but usually with darker bill Adult male alternate - Alternate plumage worn from fall through early summer - Glossy purplish head - Crescent-shaped white patch between eye and bill - White neck, breast and belly - Dark back - Black scapulars with row of rectangular white spots - Dark tail, upper- and under-tail coverts - White patch on wing split by black bar Adult male basic - Eclipse-plumage male like adult female but with darker bill and sometimes darker head Adult female - Usually has an all-yellow bill - White patch on wing split by two black bars - Reddish-brown head - Gray body plumage, paler on the breast and darker on the back |
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