Wood duck

Classification:
Order Anseriformes
Family Anatidae
Aix sponsa

Conservation Status:
Stable

Description:
43-51 cm, juvenile resembles female, but with streaked and mottled brown belly

Range:

 

Habitat:
Freshwater swamps, marshes, pools, lakes, and slowly-flowing rivers surrounded by deciduous forest. 

Diet:
In the wild they eat acorns, nuts, seeds, aquatic plants.

Life Cycle:
Breeding season begins in February and ends in April.  In the southern parts of their range, 2 broods are sometimes hatched.  They nest in tree cavities lined with down.  Incubates 9-15 eggs for approximately 30 days.  Chicks have are colored dark gray-brown above, and dull yellowish below.  Fledging takes place in about 60 days and they mature in 1 year.

Did You Know?

·        Forages on water for aquatic insects by plucking, dabbling , and head-dipping.

·        Northern populations are migratory

·        Populations reached low in 1930’s due to over-hunting.

·  Legal protection of species and habitat, and provision of nest boxes have dramatically increased numbers.

·     Southern populations have experienced recent decreases in their range due to habitat destruction but are still widespread and numerous.

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