Stocky, round-headed and buoyant, a common freshwater duck, often in flocks with pochards and coots. Dives frequently. One of the most familiar ducks in Europe, for while entirely wild and highly migratory, many Tufteds have taken advantage of park lakes and areas of water in and around cities.

They may even come for bread with the local Mallards and Coots. Yet they are equally likely to be seen on sheltered estuaries and coastal bays, or on remote pools and marshes. Tufteds are frequently found with Pochards and these mixed flocks may attract a variety of rarer birds inland, such as Scaup, vagrant Ring-necked Ducks and Ferruginous Ducks. There are natural variations in appearance according to age, sex, and season in all these species, but the possibility of escapes from waterfowl collections and even hybrids with intermediate features make these mixed flocks quite fascinating to determined wildfowl-watchers.