BUFFLEHEAD, the common name for a North American duck (Charitonetta albeola), allied to the pochard and canvas-back (qq.v.). In colour the bufflehead is black or blackish above, white below, with a white band extending around the back of the head from eye to eye, and with the remainder of the head and the neck glossed with purple, green and blue. This small duck, about I Sin. long, is noted for its powers of quick diving. It feeds in part on small fish, which it pursues and captures beneath the surface.