Pillow stuff... and a timely #featheredfriday

I hope in a very near future, due to very likely visit to some friends in the countryside, be able to finally post cool photos from portuguese birds. Meanwhile, will keep posting photos of birds from abroad!

And for this #featheredfriday, straight from Iceland, ducks it is!

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I visited this amazing country in January, and a partially frozen lake in the middle of Reykjavik provided a great birdwatching opportunity! Several species of the Anatidae family (the family of birds that includes ducks, swans and geese) were hanging around.

Among a few of the most common seen birds, such as the common goose Anser Anser, and the mallard Anas platyrhynchos, one of my favourite ducks was swimming:

^{Tufted duck / Zarro negrinha (PT) – Aythya fuligula, male}

Tufted ducks are diving ducks, meaning that instead of feeding at the water surface, they dive to feed. There is sexual dimorphism on this species. Males are very, very easy to identify: all black, with white flanks. They have tuft on the back of the head, which is the origin of their name. But what really stands out for me, are their eyes: they have beautiful golden eyes, that contrast greatly with their black heads!

Females, as what is common in most birds, has less colourful plummage, brown with flanks a little paler. The tuft is very tiny, and although it has the same beautiful golden eye, it doesn't have the same contrast as in the males (I'm glad i'm not a duck, and females in my species are a lot cuter than males! :)

^{Tufted duck / Zarro negrinha (PT) – Aythya fuligula, female on the right side}

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And on the outskirts of the city, a small pearl for me: I really like seeing species that don't exist in my home country, and this one was a novelty:

^{Common eider / Eider edredão (PT) - Somateria mollissima}

A curiosity about this one: you've probably rested your head on this bird's feathers, since the downfeathers of this duck are largely used for the filling of pillows and duvets!

A large group of males and females can be seen here; obvious sexual dimorphism as well, the males being the colourful ones, with the white body and dark flanks.

Have you seen these before? Happy birding everyone!

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