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Masked Duck

Nomonyx dominicusOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Masked Duck Portrait
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Related Birds

Ruddy Duck

General

Masked Duck: Small stifftail duck with black-tipped blue bill and black mask with thin white eye-ring. Body is rufous-brown with black streaks on back and sides; white wing patches are visible in flight. Female is mottled brown overall with paler face, and dark cap, eyestripe, and cheek stripe; bill is blue-gray. Juvenile has paler face and is finely barred gray-brown overall. Winter male is similar to juvenile but has browner face.

Range and Habitat

Masked Duck: Found primarily in the tropics and neotropics with populations throughout Mexico. Strays to Texas where it has bred. Multiple records for Louisiana and Florida, single records for several other eastern U.S. states. Inhabits marshy ponds with heavy vegetation, often found in rice fields.

Voice Text

"kirri, kirroo, kirri, kirroo, kirroo, kirroo, kirrrr"

Interesting Facts

  • The Masked Duck was first described in 1766 by Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist.
  • These ducks are usually very secretive.
  • A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.


Author

Ashli Maruster Splitbar
Range Map for Masked Duck
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Nomonyx dominicus
Length13 Inches
Wingspan17 Inches

Masked Duck

Masked Duck: Small stifftail duck with black-tipped blue bill and black mask with thin white eye-ring. Body is rufous-brown with black streaks on the back and sides; white wing patches are visible in flight. Feeds on aquatic plants, insects and crustaceans. Direct flight with rapid wing beats.

● Song: "kirri, kirroo, kirri, kirroo, kirroo, kirroo, kirrrr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Masked Duck: Feeds on variety of aquatic vegetation and seeds, occasionally insects and crustaceans. Primarily feeds by tipping up, also makes short dives.

● Breeding & nesting: Masked Duck: Presumably monogamous. Female builds roofed-over or deep cup nest in vegetation near water, lined with few down feathers. Clutch size is four to ten white or buff eggs incubated by female for 23 to 24 days. Male stays for a portion of incubation period. Female alone tends precocial young.

● Similar species:

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Masked Duck Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Masked Duck: Found primarily in the tropics and neotropics with populations throughout Mexico. Strays to Texas where it has bred. Multiple records for Louisiana and Florida, single records for several other eastern U.S. states. Inhabits marshy ponds with heavy vegetation, often found in rice fields.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationRare in North America
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight12.8 Ounces