Wood Duck
Common Name:
Wood Duck
Class: Aves
Order:
Anseriformes
Family:
Anatidae
Genus:
Aix
Species:
Aix sponsa
|
photo M. Noonan |
Taxonomy/Description
The Wood Duck is in the
family Anatidae. This family is made up of ducks and duck-like waterfowl.
The members of this family share adaptations to life on the water including
webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers with special oils to prevent
water absorption. The Wood Duck
belongs to the genus Aix. This means a kind of waterfowl. Sponsa
means betrothed or dressed for a wedding. It was given this name because of
the male’s beautiful plumage. The Wood Duck is a dichromatic species. This
means that the male and female look very different. The male Wood Duck is
very colorful with an iridescent green and purple crest on its head and a
red eye. Its body is also iridescent. It has a white patch on its neck, a
brown chest, a green colored back, and pale tan sides. The female wood duck
is much plainer with gray colored sides and face and a greenish back. The
female also has a white eye patch. Similar to the male, the female Wood
Duck has a crest. However, the female’s crest is much duller.
Habitat/Diet
The wood
duck is commonly found in wooded wetlands and ponds as well as freshwater
marshes. In the east, it breeds from southern Canada through the United
States and into Cuba. The Wood Duck also breeds along the Pacific Coast
from Southern British Columbia to Southern California. The Wood Duck
winters in the United States. Populations can be found in the East Coast,
West Coast, and Southwest. The wood duck is an omnivore. It eats a wide
variety of differing foods including seeds, fruits, and invertebrates.
Behavior/Reproduction
The wood
duck is a perching duck. Its usual foraging methods is to seek food
items floating on the water's surface. It sometimes also performs
"dabbling", the behavior in which a duck tips forward so that its whole head
and chest go under the water in search of food. Finally, wood ducks
also dive completely under water, especially when chasing fallen acorns that
are slowly sinking below them.
It is interesting that
young wood ducks will escape predators by diving. The Wood Duck is
not territorial, but in the breeding season a male will defend his mate form
other wood ducks. These ducks have many predators. Rat snakes,
woodpeckers, Raccoons, and Mink often prey upon eggs while Raccoons, Gray
Fox, and the Great Horned Owl prey on adults. If a mother with her brood
detects a predator, the female will fake a broken wing while the young finds
cover. Wood ducks form mating pairs in January and consequently when they
arrive at their breeding grounds the pairs are already created. The female
duck will make its nest by lining preformed tree cavities or in artificial
wood duck boxes with her down. Each year a female wood duck will have two
broods with an average of 6-15 eggs each. The nests are usually created
around water so that when the day old young leave the nest they will land in
the water. However, the nests can be created over one mile from water. In
this case the young ducks must hop to their mothers. Wood duck young can
survive falls from up to 290 feet when they leave the nest. The female Wood
Duck will remain with her brood until the ducklings can fly.
photo M. Noonan
Where
to see them in WNY
Wood Ducks
can be found year round in forested wetlands including those at Iroquois
National Wildlife Refuge. You should look for wood duck boxes positioned in
the marshes and ponds of the refuge. Wood duck boxes look like birdhouses
on a pole in the water. They also have a skirt to prevent predators from
eating the Wood Duck eggs. These ducks are typically shy and will usually
fly away when they sense a person approaching.