Long-Tailed Duck

Fascinating facts about the Long-Tailed Duck

• A long-tailed duck can dive deeper than a penguin—plunging 60 metres below the surface to hunt for mollusks and crustaceans on the seafloor. Their bones are denser than most birds', their muscles store oxygen like a seal's, and they can hold their breath for up to 6 minutes. They are built for the abyss in a way few ducks are.
• The males' tail streamers can grow to 17 centimetres long—longer than the rest of their body—yet they somehow barrel through blizzards and rough Arctic seas without snapping off. These feathers are so important that males moult them only in summer, when water is calm. A broken tail is a death sentence in the ice.
• Long-tailed ducks produce sound at frequencies humans cannot hear. Their quacking calls, which earned them the nickname 'old squaw,' can travel up to 1 kilometre across open water and ice—a vital lifeline in Arctic fog where sight fails. They navigate, find mates, and warn of danger in a language we only recently learned to measure.
• Their migration route spans 5,000 kilometres between Arctic breeding grounds and open ocean wintering sites, yet populations have crashed by 50% in the last three decades. Climate change is reshaping ice formation, forcing them to winter in unfamiliar waters where food chains have collapsed. A bird that evolved for the frozen Arctic is running out of winter.
• Long-tailed ducks spend more time underwater than on the surface—roughly 95% of their day is spent diving, surfacing, and diving again. This relentless rhythm has reshaped their entire anatomy: their legs are set so far back they cannot walk on land, their wing muscles are designed for underwater 'flight,' not aerial escape. They chose the depths, and the ice chose them.

At a glance

About the Long-Tailed Duck

As the icy waters of the Arctic lap against the frozen tundra, the long-tailed duck glides effortlessly, its sleek, black-and-white form weaving through the choppy waves with a mesmerizing fluidity. With each stroke of its powerful wings, it propels itself forward, the long, slender tail feathers that give it its name streaming behind like a banner, a testament to its remarkable agility and endurance. In this harsh, yet breathtakingly beautiful landscape, the long-tailed duck is a master of survival, its very existence a poignant reminder of the fragility and wonder of the natural world.

Discover more wildlife