Bufflehead
Bucephala albeola
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderAnseriformes
- FamilyAnatidae (Anàtids)
- GenusBucephala (Goldeneyes and Bufflehead)
- SpeciesBucephala albeola (Bufflehead)
The bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is a small sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Anas albeola. Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Gates of the Arctic National Park
Greater Scaup
Aythya marila
Snow Goose
Anser caerulescens
Common Teal
Anas crecca
Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator
Surf Scoter
Melanitta perspicillata
American Wigeon
Mareca americana
Trumpeter Swan
Cygnus buccinator
American White-winged Scoter
Melanitta deglandi
Northern Pintail
Anas acuta
Tundra Swan
Cygnus columbianus
Ring-necked Duck
Aythya collaris
Common Merganser
Mergus merganser
📅 Monthly Probability
Fewer than 5 records of Bufflehead at Gates of the Arctic National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there