Kauaʻi record · kba_bird_bufflehead
Bufflehead
Bucephala albeola
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About Bufflehead
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is recorded as a winter visitor on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.
Kauaʻi evidence
Bishop Museum island checklist (version 2, 2017) lists Kauaʻi status W: winter visitor. See original island table. A Hawaiʻi-level record is available, but the species needs a documented Kauaʻi observation before local ecological conclusions are drawn.
Occurrence evidence
bishop_island_checklist_2017
Names and classification
- Scientific name
- Bucephala albeola
- Common names
- Bufflehead
- Family
- Anatidae
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Record type
- Species
Kauaʻi occurrence and status
- Kauaʻi occurrence
- Kauaʻi documented: winter visitor (2017 island checklist)
- Origin
- Indigenous visitor
- Conservation status
- Not assessed
- Evidence date
- 2026-09-13
- Evidence limits
- Island occurrence supported by the 2017 checklist; abundance and current year presence are not established here
Habitat and ecology
- Habitats
- Wetlands · Taro fields · Ponds · Estuaries · Coastal habitat
- Food and resource needs
- Food and resources may include aquatic vegetation, seeds, algae, submerged plant material, aquatic invertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, small fish, or planktonic prey according to foraging type
- Reproduction
- Breeding on Kauaʻi is not established; seasonal resting and foraging habitat may be relevant.
- Shelter
- Shelter and structure within wetlands, taro fields, ponds.
Threats and conservation
- Threats
- Wetland condition, avian disease, survey detectability, and rare-record review are the relevant open questions
- Conservation actions
- Document date, place, observer, habitat, and supporting media · Confirm identification and Kauaʻi occurrence before local conservation use
- Monitoring
- Document date, place, observer, habitat, behavior, and supporting media for any Kauaʻi observation.
- Data gaps
- Update island status with dated contemporary records · Specific Kauaʻi habitat and abundance need local evidence
Process and seasonal context
- Seasonal timing
- Rare Or Unresolved Hawaiian Waterbird Record Needs Kauai Review
- Seasonal description
- Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) is recorded as a winter visitor on Kauaʻi in the Bishop Museum's 2017 island checklist. This is a documented island occurrence, not a claim of an individual sighting in 2026.