Tufted Duck

• The tufted duck is 44 cm in length with a wingspan of 70 cm
• The males are black and white, with the white restricted to the flanks.
• Females are similar, but brown and with duller flanks
• Tufted duck have a very fast, direct flight, usually running over the water surface to take off
• While it breeds across Northern Ireland, large numbers arrive in winter from across northern Europe
• Tufted ducks frequently dive for their food, mainly in pursuit of small snails, insects and some plants
• Lough Neagh holds enormous numbers, with Oxford Island Nature Reserve and Portmore Lough RSPB Reserve being good vantage points
• Hillsborough Lake and the Quoile National Nature Reserve near Downpatrick are other good localities.
• Sites around Belfast include Belfast Waterworks and Victoria Park
• The rapid expansion of the Tufted Duck in Britain during the late 19th/early 20th century is probably due to the colonisation of Britain by Zebra Mussels