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Systematics
Geographic Variation
No specific pattern noted.
Subspecies; Related Species
Larger size and thicker bill separate North American population (Bucephala clangula americana) from that of Eurasia (B. c. clangula) (Palmer 1976b, Bellrose 1980). Dement’ev and Gladkov (1967) failed to see sufficient grounds for admitting the North American form and recognized only B. c. clangula, although there is some reservation over their conclusions (Palmer 1976b); some overlap in measurements (Phillips 1925).
In the same genus, the closely related Barrow’s Goldeneye breeds in North America and Iceland, and Bufflehead is confined to North America (Livezey 1995). Johnsgard (1961) found that the sexual behavior of the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) was closer to that of Bucephala than to Mergus .
Wild hybrids recorded with Barrow’s Goldeneye Hooded Merganser, Smew (Mergus albellus), Common Merganser (M. merganser), Pochard (Aythya ferina), and Greater Scaup (A. marila) (Gray 1958, Palmer 1976b, Panov 1989) and in captivity with many species (Gray 1958). Hybridization occurs most frequently with Barrow’s Goldeneye (Martin and Di Labio 1994, D. Anstey and J. Eadie unpubl. data). Hybridization between Common Goldeneyes and Buffleheads may be prevented by the latter’s small size and distinctive behavior (Gauthier 1993).
Eadie, J. M., M. L. Mallory and H. G. Lumsden. 1995. Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/170
