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Ruddy Duck

Oxyura jamaicensisOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Ruddy Duck Portrait
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General

Ruddy Duck: Small duck with bright red-brown body; black cap extends below the eyes and onto the nape, contrasting sharply with white face; heavy bill is blue. Tail is black and often held erect when swimming. Some males show all black head, lacking white cheek patches. Female has gray-brown body, dark cap extending below eyes, dark cheek stripe through gray cheek patch, and dark gray bill. Juvenile resembles female but has paler cap and face markings. Winter male is similar to female but has white cheeks and blue-gray bill.

Range and Habitat

Ruddy Duck: Breeds from British Columbia, Mackenzie, and Quebec south to California, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas, with occasional breeding farther east. Spends winters on coasts north to British Columbia and Massachusetts and as far inland as Missouri. Preferred breeding habitats include freshwater marshes, marshy lakes, and ponds. Found in marshes and shallow coastal bays during winter.

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

  • The Ruddy Duck has spiky tail feathers that are used in courtship displays.
  • Occasionally males lack white cheeks and can be confused with the Masked Duck.
  • They are considered an invasive species in Great Britain. They have become a threat to the native White-headed ducks with whom they hybridize and compete with for nesting sites.
  • A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Ruddy 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 Oxyura jamaicensis
Length14 - 16 Inches
Wingspan22.5 Inches

Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Duck: Small duck, bright red-brown body; black cap extends below the eyes and onto the nape, contrasting sharply with white face; heavy bill is blue. Tail is black, often held erect when swimming. Some males show all black head, lacking white cheek patches. Direct flight on rapid wing beats.

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Ruddy Duck: Feeds on pondweeds, wild celery, algae, seeds, aquatic insects, shellfish, and crustaceans; forages on the water surface and by diving.

● Breeding & nesting: Ruddy Duck: Five to seventeen creamy white eggs, nest stained, are laid in a floating nest made of dry stems lined with down and concealed in reeds or bulrushes. Incubation ranges from 23 to 26 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Ruddy Duck: Masked Duck lacks white cheeks; female has two dark lines across face. Cinnamon Teal lacks stiff tail and white cheeks.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
Ruddy Duck Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Ruddy Duck: Breeds from British Columbia, Mackenzie, and Quebec south to California, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas, with occasional breeding farther east. Spends winters on coasts north to British Columbia and Massachusetts and as far inland as Missouri. Preferred breeding habitats include freshwater marshes, marshy lakes, and ponds. Found in marshes and shallow coastal bays during winter.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight20.8 Ounces