The Goldeneye is a widespread diving duck, occurring wherever there are tree cavities in which it may nest, and wintering as far north as open water may be found.
The males are gorgeous with black and white tracery on the upper sides, green gloss of the head and the bright goldeneye.
The reddish-headed female has a yellow-tipped pinkish bill:
But Winter has yet brighter scenes—he boasts
Splendors beyond what gorgeous Summer knows;
Or Autumn with his many fruits, and woods
All flushed with many hues. – William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878)