Ontario – Part 4: Goldeneye’s

There was a large open patch of water along an otherwise frozen Rideau River in Ottawa. From the adjacent river walk we watched these two male goldeneyes follow each other around, giving us a wonderful chance to see the differences between Common (left) and Barrow’s Goldeneye (right). 

You will notice that each bird has a different shape white patch on the cheek. It is slightly more rounded on the Common (left) and crescent shaped or more curved, going up above the eye line in the Barrow’s (right). The slope of the forehead is far more vertical in Barrow’s making almost a right-angle with the small bill, whereas the Common has a more gentle sloping forehead and slightly larger longer bill. On the back, Barrow’s has a nice row of white rectangular patches as well as a dark spur on the shoulder that descends towards the water.