Home › All birds › Common goldeneye

The Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a bird found in United States, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands. Northern lakes and forests; winters on coasts. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fish and seeds and nuts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Common goldeneye lives

Northern lakes and forests; winters on coasts.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs70%
• 🐟 Fish10%
• 🌰 Seeds & nuts10%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Common goldeneye

Recorded by Stanislas Wroza (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC1168172. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Common goldeneye

Where does the Common goldeneye live?

The Common goldeneye lives in United States, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Denmark and Netherlands. Northern lakes and forests; winters on coasts.

What does the Common goldeneye eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 70%), fish (about 10%), seeds and nuts (about 10%), leaves and other plant parts (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Common goldeneye endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Europe

• Common crane
• Common merganser
• Red kite
• White-tailed eagle
• Common cuckoo
• Sedge warbler

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.