A diving duck distinguished by a tuft at the back of its head and yellow eyes.
The male is black and white, with a long drooping tuft. Females and young birds are brown, with shorter tufts.
Tufted ducks can select mussels by size. In captive tests involving six birds, mussels 15–17.5 millimetres long were particularly favoured when multiple size classes were available. The preferred size was larger than the smallest available mussels.
The 1987 study tested birds individually with mussels placed on stones beside water, allowing selection without diving. Alongside ten-size-class trials, two-class trials used one pair. Larger mussels were preferred in slightly over half of those comparisons, although smaller ones tended to be selected when both options were large. Handling time, from pickup to swallowing, increased with mussel size.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
BirdLife’s account identifies drainage, peat extraction, altered agricultural land use and oil pollution as threats in breeding areas, along with disturbance from recreation on inland waters. Measures proposed for Europe include protecting important breeding sites from habitat alteration, promoting low-intensity farming and monitoring hunting harvests for sustainability.