Regno: Animalia
Sottoregno: Eumetazoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Classe: Mammalia
Sottoclasse: Eutheria
Ordine: Carnivora
Famiglia: Canidae
Sottofamiglia: Caninae
Tribù: Canini[1]
Genere: Canis
Specie: C. lupus

Adult males ranges from 45–52 cm (18–21 inches) and from 888 to 1400 grams (1.9 to 3.1 lbs), while females range from 40–50 cm (16–20 inches) and from 500 to 1182 grams (1.1 to 2.6 lbs). The species is aptly named for its golden-yellow eye. Adult males have a dark head with a greenish gloss and a circular white patch below the eye, a dark back and a white neck and belly. Adult females have a brown head and a mostly grey body. Their legs and feet are orange-yellow.

Their breeding habitat is the taiga. They are found in the lakes and rivers of boreal forests across Canada and the northern United States,Scandinavia and northern Russia. They are migratory and most winter in protected coastal waters or open inland waters at more temperate latitudes. Naturally, they nest in cavities in large trees. They will readily use nestboxes, and this has enabled a healthy breeding population to establish in Scotland where they are increasing and slowly spreading with the help of nestboxes. They are usually quite common in winter around lakes of Britain and some are being encouraged to nest in nestboxes which are put up to try to have them there all year round.

Often the natural tree cavities are made by broken limbs, unless they are made by Pileated Woodpeckers or Black Woodpeckers, the only tree-cavity-making animals who make a cavity large enough to normally accommodate a goldeneye. Average egg size is a breadth of 43.3 mm (1.7 inches), a length of 59.3 mm (2.3 inches) and a weight of 64 grams (2.3 oz). The incubation period ranges from 28 to 32 days. The female does all the incubating and is abandoned by the male about 1 to 2 weeks into incubation. The young remain in the nest for about 24–36 hours.Brood parasitism is quite common both with other Common Goldeneyes as well as other duck species and even Tree Swallow and European Starling eggs have been found mixed with goldeneye eggs! The broods commonly start to mix with other females’ broods as they become more independent. Goldeneye young have been known to be competitively killed by other goldeneye mothers, Common Loons and Red-necked Grebes. The young are capable of flight at 55–65 days of age.

Adults are approximately 64 cm (25 in) long and weigh 800 g (28 oz). They have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. Young birds are brown, flecked with white and grey. These are short-necked and stout herons.

Adults are 33–36 cm long. They have long pink legs, a long thin black bill and are blackish above and white below, with a white head and neck with a varying amount of black. Males have a black back, often with greenish gloss. Females’ backs have a brown hue, contrasting with the black remiges. In the populations that have the top of the head normally white at least in winter, females tend to have less black on head and neck all year round, while males often have much black, particularly in summer. This difference is not clear-cut, however, and males usually get all-white heads in winter.

Immature birds are grey instead of black and have a markedly sandy hue on the wings, with light feather fringes appearing as a whitish line in flight.

The Alpine Ibex, Capra ibex, is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. The Spanish Ibex(Capra pyrenaica) and the Middle Eastern Nubian Ibex (Capra nubiana) are very close relatives of the Alpine Ibex. Its names in various European languages are French bouquetin, Italian stambecco, Slovene kozorog, German Steinbock, andDutch steenbok. Confusingly the Dutch word has entered the English language(via Afrikaans) not for this animal, but as the name for an unrelated species of African antelope, the steenbok (Raphicerus campestris).