The female Tufted Duck has only a small tuft, sometimes indistinguishable. She has a dark brown head and back, mid-brown sides, blue-grey bill and yellow eyes. The tufted breeding drake is shown on a separate page.

The female Tufted Duck can sometimes be confused with a Scaup since she often has a white patch at base of her bill, although the white is less extensive than on the Scaup and her back and sides have less grey.

Female Tufted Duck in flight

With ducklings and showing the brown-bordered white edge to her wings

With ducklings

Tufted duckling, much darker than a Mallard and no eye-stripe

Some Tufted ducklings are almost black

They take to the water at a very young age

A little older, still with dark eyes

Juveniles beginning to get adult-pattern plumage and lighter eyes