"Male Buffleheads court females by flying over them, skiing to a stop on the water with their crests raised, flapping their wings and bobbing their heads. During the breeding season, territorial birds attack intruders by flying or swimming underwater at them and thrashing at them with their wings. When a pair of Buffleheads intrudes into a nearby territory, the male that owns the territory often chases the intruding female and her mate follows them in hot pursuit. Males leave their mates during incubation in order to molt, but return to the same mate multiple years in a row (one of the few duck species in which this is true)." ~ All About Birds


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