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Wood Duck
Scientific Name - Aix sponsa
Identification Tips:
Length: 13.5 inches
Wingspan: 28 inches
A medium-sized duck with a long crest on head
Long-winged and long-tailed
Blue-green speculum with white rear border
Adult male alternate: Alternate plumage worn
from fall through early summer
Alternate plumage worn from Fall-through early summer
Red bill
Red eye
Green head
Striking white stripes about face and crest with a
large white throat patch and "fingerlike"
extensions onto cheek and neck
Chestnut breast and neck with vertical white stripe
at lower margin
Golden flanks bordered above by a white flank stripe
White belly
Iridescent dark green-blue back and wings
Adult male basic:
In basic plumage, the male resembles the female,
but often retains the distinctive neck patch and red
bill
Adult female:
Gray bill
White teardrop shaped patch around eye
White throat
Gray-brown head and neck
Gray-brown breast stippled with white and fading to
a white belly
Dark brown back
Juvenal plumage:
Gray bill
Female similar to adult female
Males similar to adult females, but with white neck
patch
Similar species:
Adult male is unmistakable. Female, immature and eclipse
males are nondescript, but distinctive in face pattern,
shape and speculum pattern.
Diet:
Primarily:
- Seeds
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Green Plant Matter
Lesser Quantities of:
- Insects
- Aquatic Invertebrates
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