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goldeneye

  (gōl'dən-ī') pronunciation
n.
  1. Either of two diving ducks (Bucephala clangula or B. islandica) of northern regions, having a short black bill, a rounded head, and yellow eyes.
  2. Any of various lacewings of the family Chrysopidae having yellow or copper-colored eyes.

[From their golden-yellow eyes.]


 
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: goldeneye

Either of two species of small, yellow-eyed diving ducks that produce a whistling sound with their rapidly beating wings. The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) breeds throughout the Northern Hemisphere; Barrow's goldeneye (B. islandica) breeds primarily in northwestern North America and Iceland. Both winter mainly in northern coastal waters. Both are about 18 in. (46 cm) long and have a black back marked with white, white sides and breast, and conspicuous white patches in front of the eyes. The head of the common is dark green; that of the Barrow's is purplish black. Both nest in tree cavities and prefer a diet of aquatic invertebrates. They are prized as game birds.

For more information on goldeneye, visit Britannica.com.

 
WordNet: goldeneye
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a variety of green lacewing
  Synonym: golden-eyed fly

Meaning #2: large-headed swift-flying diving duck of arctic regions
  Synonyms: whistler, Bucephela clangula

 
Wikipedia: Goldeneye (duck)
For other uses, see Goldeneye (disambiguation)
Goldeneyes
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Anseriformes
Family: Anatidae
Genus: Bucephala
Boie, 1822
Species

B. clangula
B. islandica
B. albeola

Goldeneye are small tree-hole nesting northern hemisphere seaducks belonging to the genus Bucephala. Their plumage is black and white, and they eat fish, crustaceans and other marine life.

The three living species are

Known fossil taxa are:

  • Bucephala cereti (Sajóvölgyi Middle Miocene of Mátraszõlõs, Hungary - Late Pliocene of Chilhac, France)
  • Bucephala ossivalis (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene of Bone Valley, USA), which was very similar to the Common Goldeneye and may even have been a paleosubspecies or direct ancestor
  • Bucephala fossilis (Late Pliocene of California, USA)
  • Bucephala angustipes (Early Pleistocene of C Europe)
  • Bucephala sp. (Early Pleistocene of Dursunlu, Turkey: Louchart et al. 1998)

References

  • Louchart, Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA 327(5): 341-346. [French with English abridged version] doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0 (HTML abstract)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Goldeneye (duck)".  Read more

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