Quantcast

American Black Duck

Anas rubripesOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)
American Black Duck Head Male Illustration

Head

  • Bill Shape: Spatulate
  • Eye Color: Medium brown.
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Capped, Streaked
  • Crown Color: Gray-brown
  • Forehead Color: Gray-brown
  • Nape Color: Dark Brown
  • Throat Color: Gray-brown
  • Cere color: No Data
American Black Duck Body Illustration

Body

  • Length Range: 48-58 cm (19-23 in)
  • Weight: 1406 g (49.6 oz)
  • Size: Size 4. Large (16 - 32 in)
  • Color: Blue, Brown, Black
  • Underparts: Brown-black
  • Upperparts: Brown-black
  • Back Pattern: Scaled or Scalloped
  • Belly Pattern: Scaled or Scalloped
  • Breast Pattern: Mottled
American Black Duck Flight Illustration

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 84-91 cm (33-36 in)
  • Wing Shape: Tapered-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Pointed Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Dark Brown
  • Upper Tail: Dark Brown
  • Under Tail: Brown-black
  • Leg Color: Orange
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
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 Surface-feeding Duck (Anatidae)_blue
Species Anas rubripes
Length19 - 23 Inches
Wingspan36 Inches

American Black Duck

American Black Duck: Stocky, medium-sized dabbling duck with dark brown body, paler face and foreneck, and purple speculum bordered with black. Head is finely streaked; dark eyestripe is distinct. White underwings contrast with dark brown body in flight. Legs, feet are orange. Swift direct flight.

● Song: "quack, quack, quack, quack"

● Foraging & Feeding: American Black Duck: Feeds mainly on seeds, aquatic vegetation, crop plants, aquatic insects, mollusks, amphibians, and crustaceans. Forages by grazing, probing, dabbling, or upending in shallow water; occasionally dives from the surface.

● Breeding & nesting: American Black Duck: Six to twelve creamy white to green buff eggs are laid at one-day intervals and incubated by the female for an average of 28 days. The male abandons her towards the end of incubation. Usually returns to old nesting areas, building nest on the ground, typically near water, hidden in tall grass or underneath shrubs or low branches of a conifer.

● Similar species: American Black Duck: Female, immature and eclipse male mallards are much paler, without contrast between head and body and with white borders around blue speculum. Mottled Duck has broader brown feather edges on upperparts and bluer speculum.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with rapid wing beats.
American Black Duck Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: American Black Duck: Breeds from Manitoba southeast to Minnesota, east through Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and in the forested portions of eastern Canada to northern Quebec and northern Labrador. Spends winters in southern parts of its breeding range and south to the Gulf Coast, Florida, and Bermuda.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight49.6 Ounces