The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin fuligo 'soot' and gula 'throat'.

[3] The tufted duck was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas fuligula.

[4] He cited the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner who in 1555 had used the identical name Anas fuligula in his Historiae animalium.

[6][7] The tufted duck is now one of 12 species placed in the genus Aythya that was introduced in 1822 by the German naturalist Friedrich Boie.

[8] The genus name is from Ancient Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by Aristotle, Hesychius and other authors.

[10] The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill with gold-yellow eyes, along with a thin crest on the back of its head.

The tufted duck is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

It is believed to have expanded its traditional range with the increased availability of open water due to gravel extraction, and the spread of freshwater mussels, a favourite food.

These ducks are migratory in most of their range, and overwinter in the milder south and west of Europe, southern Asia and all year in the British Isles.