Barrow's Goldeneye

Status Rare in winter. As Jones (1885) noted, the two goldeneyes were probably not distinguished in Nova Scotia before the discussion of their differences by Gilpin (1880). These and other nineteenth-century sources considered Barrow's Goldeneye as rare. Prior to 1960 very few were reported. Since then, there have been some 45 records involving about 110 individuals, all between 2 November at earliest and 20 April at latest (there are October and late-April records from earlier years). They have been particularly regular at the head of Bedford Basin near Halifax, at Sydney and in Pugwash Harbour, Cumberland County.

Description Length: 50-58 cm. Adult male: Very similar to the Common Goldeneye but head has a purple rather than green gloss, and the white patch in front of eye is crescent-shaped instead of circular. Adult female and immatures: In life it is difficult to distinguish females and immatures of this species from those of the Common Goldeneye, but the rounder, darker heads of the Barrow's females and, in late winter and spring, their completely yellow bills, are good field marks. Birds in the hand can be distinguished by a comparison of their respective bills, that of Barrow's Goldeneye being narrower and its "nail" smaller.

Range Breeds in western and eastern parts of North America; from Alaska and the Yukon, south to Washington State, and southwestern Alberta; in northeastern Quebec and Labrador; also in southern Greenland and Iceland. On the Atlantic coast it winters from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to New York State but rarely further south.

Remarks Two Barrow's Goldeneyes shot on 3 January 1933 were among three taken from a small flock of goldeneyes. The third bird was a drake Common Goldeneye. Because Barrow's Goldeneyes sometimes mingle with their more common relatives, to which they bear a marked resemblance, and because so few hunters distinguish one species from the other when shot, it may be that this species occurs here in winter more frequently than the relatively few records indicate.