Ring-necked Duck
Encyclopedia
The Ring-necked Duck is a smaller diving duck
from North America
.
The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasia
n Tufted Duck
, its relative. It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back. The adult female has a pale brown head and body with a dark brown back, a dark bill with a more subtle light band than the male and brown eyes. The cinnamon neck ring is usually difficult to observe, unlike the white ring on its bill, which is why the bird is sometimes referred to as a "ringbill".
Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes or ponds in the northern United States
and Canada
. They overwinter in southern North America, usually in lakes, ponds, rivers or bays.
These birds feed mainly by diving. They eat aquatic plants as well as some molluscs, aquatic insect
s and small fish
.
The nest is bowl-shaped, built with aquatic vegetation and lined with down, in a dry location near open water. The female lays 8 to 10 eggs and may remain with the young until they are able to fly.
is a rare but regular vagrant
to western Europe
. In Britain, occasional small flocks occur, including five at Loch Leven
, Scotland
in September 2003. In Ireland
one or two individuals can be seen at any time of year. Vagrant individuals also occur each year in Central America
as far south as Costa Rica
between October/November and May/June.
Diving duck
The diving ducks, commonly called pochards or scaups, are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of the diverse and very large Anatidae family that includes ducks, geese, and swans....
from North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
n Tufted Duck
Tufted Duck
The Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, is a medium-sized diving duck with a population of close to one million birds.- Description :The adult male is all black except for white flanks and a blue-grey bill. It has an obvious head tuft that gives the species its name.The adult female is brown with paler...
, its relative. It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back. The adult female has a pale brown head and body with a dark brown back, a dark bill with a more subtle light band than the male and brown eyes. The cinnamon neck ring is usually difficult to observe, unlike the white ring on its bill, which is why the bird is sometimes referred to as a "ringbill".
Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes or ponds in the northern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They overwinter in southern North America, usually in lakes, ponds, rivers or bays.
These birds feed mainly by diving. They eat aquatic plants as well as some molluscs, aquatic insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and small fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
.
The nest is bowl-shaped, built with aquatic vegetation and lined with down, in a dry location near open water. The female lays 8 to 10 eggs and may remain with the young until they are able to fly.
Vagrancy
This strong migrantBird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
is a rare but regular vagrant
Vagrancy (biology)
Vagrancy is a phenomenon in biology whereby individual animals appear well outside their normal range; individual animals which exhibit vagrancy are known as vagrants. The term accidental is sometimes also used...
to western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. In Britain, occasional small flocks occur, including five at Loch Leven
Loch Leven
Loch Leven is a fresh water loch in Perth and Kinross council area, central Scotland.Roughly triangular, the loch is about 6 km at its longest. The burgh of Kinross lies at its western end. Loch Leven Castle lies on an island a short way offshore...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in September 2003. In Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
one or two individuals can be seen at any time of year. Vagrant individuals also occur each year in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
as far south as Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
between October/November and May/June.
External links
- Ring-necked Duck at Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Ring-necked Duck at USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Ring-necked Duck at eNature.com
- Ring-necked Duck at South Dakota Birds
- Ring-necked Duck at Mass Audubon Breeding Bird Atlas