- Aythya americana
Identification
L. 37 cm.
Male: Blue bill, red head and neck, black breast, yellow eyes, grey back
Female: Brown head and body, darker bluish bill with a black tip.
Similar Species
Adult male may be confused with Canvasback, but note steep forehead, gray back, and blue bill.
Distribution
North America, winter in northern Mexico and the Caribbean.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Marshes.
Behaviour
The diet includes aquatic plants with some molluscs, aquatic insects and small fish. They feed primarily by diving. They sometimes lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Woodin, M. C. and T. C. Michot (2020). Redhead (Aythya americana), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.redhea.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Redhead. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Redhead
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
