Duck-like Birds

American Black Duck  Anas rubripes

Family: Ducks and Geese, Anatidae

Audio: Martyn Stewart, © Naturesound.org

An estimated 52% of the species' North American population breeds within the Boreal Forest.

Description  19-22" (48-56 cm). Sooty brown with paler head and conspicuous white wing linings and violet speculum; olive or dull yellow bill. Sexes similar. Female Mallard paler and sandier, with bill mottled with orange and black, and whitish tail feathers.

Habitat  Marshes, lakes, streams, coastal mudflats, and estuaries.

Nesting  9-12 greenish-buff eggs in a ground nest of feathers and down.

Range  Breeds in eastern and central North America, from Manitoba and Labrador to Texas and Florida. Winters from southern Minnesota and Nova Scotia south to southern Texas and central Florida.

Voice  Typical duck quack.

Discussion  Habitat destruction and widespread interbreeding between American Black Ducks and Mallards has resulted in recent years in a decrease of "pure" Blacks. Actually the bird is not black, but only appears so at a distance; it was formerly more aptly known as the "Dusky Duck."