Aythya americana
Although Redheads are fully equipped with all the features required for diving, they often feed on the surface of wetlands like dabbling ducks. Redheads often build a nest and brood their young as other ducks do, but they occasionally adopt different strategies to reproduce: a female Redhead will occasionally lay some eggs in another hen's nest and incubate only some of her own. Female ducks routinely use up more than 50 percent of their calcium reserves in egg production. Separating Redheads and Canvasbacks is a simple matter of looking at foreheads: Canvasbacks lack a forehead; Redheads look as though they are wearing a ball cap. The genus name Aythya has its roots in the Greek word aithuia, meaning 'water bird.' |
I.D.: Male: rounded, red head; black breast and hindquarters; gray back and sides; blue-gray bill is tipped with black. Female: dark overall; lighter toward the black-tipped bill. Size: L 18-22 in. (46-56 cm). Range: uncommon migrant and breeder in the U.S. Rockies; rarely seen in the Canadian Rockies. Habitat: large wetlands, lakes and rivers, often near emergent vegetation. Nesting: typically on the Great Plains; deep basket nest is well concealed at the base of emergent vegetation, suspended over water; nest is built with reeds and grass and lined with fine, white down; female occasionally lays eggs in other ducks' nests. Feeding: dives to depths of 10 ft. (3 m); primarily eats aquatic vegetation, especially pondweeds and duckweeds, and the leaves and stems of plants; occasionally eats aquatic invertebrates. Voice: generally quiet. Male: courtship call is a cat-like meow. Female: rolling kurr-kurr-kurr; squak when alarmed. Similar Species: Canvasback: clean white back; bill slopes into the forehead. Lesser Scaup: female has more white at the base of the bill. |
