GOLDEN-EYE, a name given to a diving duck (Glaucion, or Clangula), breeding in far northern regions, whence it mi grates south in winter. It nests in hollow trees. In Scandinavia the people set up artificial nesting-boxes, whence they take toll of the bird's eggs and down. The adult male is mainly black above, with a white eye-patch and scapulars; the lower parts are white; in the female, dark brown replaces black. An elaborate courtship during which the drake may dive and bob up just in front of the female, occurs in the early spring.
Two species inhabit North America. These are Barrow's golden eye (C. islandica), with a high northern breeding range, and the American golden-eye (C. c. americana).