Wood Duck - BirdForum Opus

Photo by Forcreeks
Milwaukie, Oregon, USA

Aix sponsa

Identification

Female
Photo © by katastrofa
Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta, Canada, 7 December 2019

43-51cm (17-20 in)
Male:

• Metallic blue and head and upperparts
• Thin white lines on head
• White chin and throat
• Sides of neck and breast dark reddish-brown, with white specks
  

Female and Eclipse

• Greyish-brown upperparts
• Brownish underparts with pale flank spots
• White eyering and throat
  

Both sexes have a crest

Immature female
Photo by meschmalz
Westerville, Ohio, August 2016

Similar Species

Male & Female
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Robertson County, Texas, USA, 6 December 2020

Mandarin Duck:

Distribution

Inland waters of Canada to northern Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas.

Most European sightings are of escapes from ornamental collections.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Wooded swamps, shallow lakes, marshes or ponds.

Behaviour

Breeding

The nest in tree cavities, near water and will readily take to nest boxes. From 9 to 14 eggs are laid. The young jump to the ground a day after hatching.

Diet

The diet includes green plant stems, acorns, nuts, berries and seeds such as cypress and hickory, also insects.

Vocalisation

Flight call (female): High-pitched aaankh aankh aaankh

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Hepp, G. R. and F. C. Bellrose (2020). Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wooduc.01
3. Wikipedia
4. Collins Bird Guide ISBN 0 00 219728 6

External Links

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