Blue Winged Teal

  • Size & Shape A small dabbling duck, a Blue-winged Teal is dwarfed by a Mallard and only a touch larger than a Green-winged Teal. Head is rounded and bill is on the large side.

  • Color Pattern Breeding males are brown-bodied with dark speckling on the breast, slaty-blue head with a white crescent behind the bill, and a small white flank patch in front of their black rear. Females and eclipse males are a cold, patterned brown. In flight, they reveal a bold powder-blue patch on their upperwing coverts.

  • Behavior Pairs and small groups dabble and up-end to reach submerged vegetation. You'll often find Blue-winged Teal with other species of dabbling ducks. They are often around the edges of ponds under vegetation, choosing a concealed spot to forage or rest.

  • Habitat Look for Blue-winged Teal on calm bodies of water from marshes to small lakes. The prairie-pothole region is the heart of their breeding range, where they thrive in grassy habitats intermixed with wetlands.

Bufflehead

  • Size & Shape Bufflehead are very small, compact ducks with large, rounded heads and short, wide bills.

  • Color Pattern Adult male Bufflehead have a white body, black back, and a dark head with a large white patch that wraps around the back of the head. Females and first-year males are gray-brown overall with an oval, white cheek patch. In flight adult males have a large white patch on the upperwing; females and first-year males have a smaller white wing patch.

  • Behavior Bufflehead dive underwater to catch aquatic invertebrates. When courting females, male Buffleheads swim in front of them, rapidly bobbing their heads up and down. In flight, you can identify Bufflehead by noting their small size, fast wingbeats, and pattern of rocking side-to side as they fly.

  • Habitat Bufflehead are most widespread in migration and winter, when they move south to coasts and large bodies of water, particularly shallow saltwater bays. They breed near lakes in northern forests where conifers mix with poplars or aspens. Bufflehead nest in tree cavities, especially old Northern Flicker holes.

Canada Goose

  • Size & Shape Canada Geese are big waterbirds with a long neck, large body, large webbed feet, and wide, flat bill.

  • Color Pattern Canada Geese have a black head with white cheeks and chinstrap, black neck, tan breast, and brown back.

  • Behavior Canada Geese feed by dabbling in the water or grazing in fields and large lawns. They are often seen in flight moving in pairs or flocks; flocks often assume a V formation.

  • Habitat Just about anywhere near lakes, rivers, ponds, or other small or large bodies of water, and in yards, park lawns, and farm fields.

Canvasback

A large diving duck, the Canvasback breeds in prarie potholes and winters on ocean bays. Its sloping profile distinguishes it from other ducks.

Gadwall

  • Size & Shape Gadwall are about the same size as Mallards. Gadwall have a fairly large, square head with a steep forehead. The bill is noticeably thinner than a Mallard's. In flight, the neck is slightly thinner and the wings slightly more slender than a Mallard’s.

  • Color Pattern Male Gadwall are gray-brown with a black patch at the tail. Females are patterned with brown and buff. Females have a thin orange edge to their dark bills. In flight, both sexes have a white wing patch that is sometimes visible while swimming or resting.

  • Behavior Gadwall feed with other dabbling ducks, tipping forward to feed on submerged vegetation without diving. They sometimes steal food from flocks of diving ducks or coots. You'll often see these ducks in pairs through the winter, because they select their mates for the breeding season as early as late fall.

  • Habitat Gadwall breed mainly in the Great Plains and prairies. On migration and in winter, look for Gadwall in reservoirs, ponds, fresh and salt water marshes, city parks, sewage ponds, or muddy edges of estuaries.

Green Winged Teal

A very small, brightly patterned duck, the Green-winged Teal prefers shallow ponds with lots of emergent vegetation. Along the coast, it prefers tidal creeks, mudflats, and marshes to more open water.

Mallard



  • Size & Shape Mallards are large ducks with hefty bodies, rounded heads, and wide, flat bills. Like many “dabbling ducks” the body is long and the tail rides high out of the water, giving a blunt shape. In flight their wings are broad and set back toward the rear.

  • Color Pattern Male Mallards have a dark, iridescent-green head and bright yellow bill. The gray body is sandwiched between a brown breast and black rear. Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue “speculum” patch in the wing.

  • Behavior Mallards are “dabbling ducks”—they feed in the water by tipping forward and grazing on underwater plants. They almost never dive. They can be very tame ducks especially in city ponds, and often group together with other Mallards and other species of dabbling ducks.

  • Habitat Mallards can live in almost any wetland habitat, natural or artificial. Look for them on lakes, ponds, marshes, rivers, and coastal habitats, as well as city and suburban parks and residential backyards.

Northern Shoveler

Adult Description
  • Medium-sized duck.
  • Very long bill, wider at tip than at base.
  • Male with iridescent green head, white chest, and rusty sides.
Male DescriptionBreeding Plumage: Head dark glossy green. Bill black. Back black. Chest white. Flanks and belly chestnut-brown. Eyes yellow.
Eclipse Plumage: Duller. Head and breast brownish black speckled with whitish or tan. Back black with tan feather edges. Flanks light brown. May show indistinct white crescent on face behind bill. Eyes yellow.Female DescriptionGrayish-brown overall; some feathers have light edging with darker centers. Bill olive-green with yellowish base and edges. Eyes brown.

Pintail

Adult Description
  • Medium-sized duck.
  • Long, thin neck.
  • Pointed tail, extremely long in males.
  • Male with white chest, white stripe up neck, and dark reddish brown head.
Male DescriptionBreeding Plumage: Chocolate-brown head. White neck and underparts, white extending up back of neck in thin line. Very long black central tail feathers. Black rear end bordered by yellowish tan patch. Sides and upper back gray. Lower back feathers long and black with pale edges. Rear of wing (speculum) bronzy greenish with black band and white rear edge. Bill black with bluish gray stripes. Eyes dark brown. Legs gray.
Eclipse Plumage: Duller. Overall brownish. Head, throat, and neck medium brownish with fine dark streaks. Upperparts brownish to grayish with broad dark barring. Central tail feathers brown and long, but much shorter and wider than in breeding plumage. Bill black with bluish gray stripes. Eyes dark brown. Legs gray.Female DescriptionCrown and face tan. Chin whitish. Back and rump brown with lighter edges to feathers. Upper breast buff or tan. Lower breast and belly white. Tail pointed, with central tail feathers longest. Rear of wing (speculum) bronzy greenish with black band and white rear edge. Bill dull black, occasionally with bluish stripes. Eyes dark brown. Legs bluish gray.

Redhead

An aptly named diving duck, the Redhead can be easily identified by its bright red head and gray back. Many female Redheads make no nests of their own, but instead lay their eggs in the nests of other ducks.

Adult Description
  • Medium-sized duck.
  • Rounded head.
  • Bill blue with black tip.
  • Male with bright red head, gray back, and black chest and rear end.

Ringneck

  • Size & Shape A compact diving duck with a distinctive head shape—a sloping forehead and peaked rear crown. The crown flattens when they are diving. In flight, Ring-necked Ducks appear large-headed with a thin neck and a short, round body.

  • Color Pattern Males are bold black-and-gray ducks with a dark head, black back, and gray sides with a white hash mark on the chest. Females are rich brown with a contrastingly pale cheek, a white patch near the bill, and a whitish eyering. Adult males have a prominent white ring on the bill.

  • Behavior Ring-necked Ducks are often in small flocks and pairs, diving to feed on mollusks, invertebrates, and submerged aquatic vegetation. Sometimes they flock with scaup; other times you may see them with dabbling ducks.

  • Habitat Look for Ring-necked Ducks on smaller bodies of water than other diving ducks. In winter and on migration, this can include beaver ponds, small lakes, marshes, cattle ponds, or even flooded agricultural fields across North America. Ring-necked Ducks breed in freshwater marshes, bogs, and other shallow, often acidic wetlands.

Snow Goose

  • Size & Shape A medium-sized goose with a hefty bill and long, thick neck. Juveniles are slightly smaller than adults in the fall, and this can be noticeable in flocks during fall and early winter.

  • Color Pattern The Snow Goose is a white-bodied goose with black wingtips that are barely visible on the ground but noticeable in flight. The pink bill has a dark line along it, often called a "grinning patch" or "black lips." You may also see dark morph Snow Geese, or "Blue Geese," with a white face, dark brown body, and white under the tail.

  • Behavior Snow Geese don’t like to travel without the company of another couple dozen geese and can form flocks of several hundred thousand. Family groups forage together on wintering grounds, digging up roots and tubers from muddy fields and marshes. In flight, they are steady on the wing with even wingbeats.

  • Habitat Snow Geese adapted quickly to use agricultural fields, which is one reason their populations are doing so well. During winter and migration, look for them in plowed cornfields or wetlands. Also check lakes, ponds, and marshes where they roost and bathe along shorelines and in open water. Snow Geese breed on Arctic tundra.

White fronted Goose

Breeding across the tundra from Nunavut to Siberia, across Russia, and in Greenland, the Greater White-fronted Goose has one of the largest ranges of any species of goose in the world. In North America, however, it is common only west of the Mississippi River, where it is found in large flocks in wetlands and croplands.

Adult Description
  • Medium-sized goose.
  • Body gray-brown.
  • Forehead and base of bill white.
  • Bill pinkish or orange.
  • Variable amount of black mottling on belly.
Immature DescriptionSlightly smaller and lighter than adult. Lacks white forehead and black belly marks. Bill light pinkish. Legs yellow-orange

Widgeon

A common and increasingly abundant duck, the American Wigeon breeds in northwestern North America and is found throughout the rest of the continent in migration and in winter. Its small bill and the male's white forehead, as well as certain aspects of nesting and feeding behavior, distinguish this species from other dabbling ducks.
Adult Description
  • Medium-sized duck.
  • Male with white crown.
  • Green face patch.
  • Large white patch in wings.
  • Black rear end bordered by white.
Male DescriptionBreeding (Alternate) Plumage: White or cream-colored forehead and forecrown and broad dark-green patch extending from behind eye to nape. Bill is bluish-gray with black tip. Cheeks and chin grayish. Breast, sides, and back are pinkish-brown. Rear flanks show a white patch; undertail coverts are black.
Eclipse (Basic) Plumage: Variable amounts of white and green on head. Undertail coverts are variably black, with some white. In all plumages, male shows white patch on upper wing, and dark-green speculum.Female DescriptionHead appears grayish overall, with finely-blended white and dusky streaks. Breast and flanks are pale reddish-brown; mantle is grayish-brown with some buff barring. Bill is small and grayish, with a black tip.

Wood duck

  • Size & Shape Wood Ducks have a unique shape among ducks—a boxy, crested head, a thin neck, and a long, broad tail. In flight, they hold their head up high, sometimes bobbing it. Overall, their silhouette shows a skinny neck, long body, thick tail, and short wings.

  • Color Pattern In good light, males have a glossy green head cut with white stripes, a chestnut breast and buffy sides. In low or harsh light, they'll look dark overall with paler sides. Females are gray-brown with white-speckled breast. In eclipse plumage (late summer), males lose their pale sides and bold stripes, but retain their bright eye and bill. Juveniles are very similar to females.

  • Behavior Unlike most waterfowl, Wood Ducks perch and nest in trees and are comfortable flying through woods. Their broad tail and short, broad wings help make them maneuverable. When swimming, the head jerks back and forth much as a walking pigeon's does. You often see Wood Ducks in small groups (fewer than 20), keeping apart from other waterfowl. Listen for the female's call when these wary birds flush.

  • Habitat Look for Wood Ducks in wooded swamps, marshes, streams, beaver ponds, and small lakes. They stick to wet areas with trees or extensive cattails. As a cavity nester, Wood Ducks take readily to nest boxes.