Ruddy Duck
Oxyura jamaicensis
Small, compact duck with a long, fan-shaped tail, often held sticking up out of water. Breeding males have a chestnut body, black cap, white cheek, and baby-blue bill. Winter males have a brown body, black cap and white cheek. Females and immature males are brown overall with a dark cap and dark line through the cheek. Often in tight groups bobbing like corks on ponds and bays. Dives to forage on aquatic invertebrates. Not often seen flying.
Identification
These are small, compact ducks with stout, scoop-shaped bills, and long, stiff tails they often hold cocked upward. They have slightly peaked heads and fairly short, thick necks. Male ruddy ducks have blackish caps that contrast with bright white cheeks. In summer, they have rich chestnut bodies with bright blue bills. In winter, they are dull gray-brown above and paler below with dull gray bills. Females and first-year males are brownish, somewhat like winter males but with a blurry stripe across the pale cheek patch. In flight, ruddy ducks show solidly dark tops of the wings.
Taxonomy
The ruddy duck was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the other ducks, geese and swans in the genus Anas and coined the binomial name Anas jamaicensis. Gmelin based his description on the "Jamaica shoveler" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham from a specimen that he had received from Jamaica. The ruddy duck is now placed with five other species in the genus Oxyura that was introduced in 1828 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek oxus, meaning "sharp", and oura meaning "tail". The specific epithet jamaicensis means "from Jamaica". The Andean duck was formerly considered to be conspecific with the ruddy duck but with the two species split, the ruddy duck is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
- Scientific name
- Oxyura jamaicensis
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Oxyura
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Western Meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta
Streaked brown above and yellow below with distinctive black "V" on breast. In flight, short wings and spiky tail with white outer feathers are apparent. Breeds in fields and grasslands throughout much of western North America, regularly as far east as Michigan. Winters in a wider range of open habitats, even agricultural fields and roadsides. Extremely similar to Eastern Meadowlark and best distinguished by voice: listen for musical gurgling song and "chuk" calls. In winter, plumage looks paler and more washed-out than Eastern Meadowlark, with a less contrasting head pattern. Western is also more likely to be in flocks and areas with shorter grass (less pristine, extensive grasslands).
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
Chrysomus icterocephalus
Male is unmistakable within its range: mostly jet black with bright yellow head. Female is mostly dark olive with brightest yellow concentrated on the upper breast. Stout pointed bill typical of a blackbird. Patchily distributed in northern South America, where is generally uncommon in marshy habitats, especially bordering lakes or rivers. Found in pairs or small flocks.
Pacific Loon
Gavia pacifica
A medium-sized loon, common in western North America and across the Pacific to Japan. Dark overall and relatively short-billed for a loon, with a rounded crown and nape. Breeding plumage striking with gray head, white-checkered back, and thin white lines on sides of neck. Nonbreeding plumage is rather dark gray above with a clearly demarcated white throat and even border between gray and white on the neck. Diagnostic dark “chinstrap” is sometimes obvious but can be difficult to see at a distance, and is often absent on first-year birds. Especially similar to Arctic Loon, which overlaps mainly from Alaska to Japan. Pacific is subtly smaller-billed and usually holds its head horizontally. In breeding plumage, Pacific has a paler nape that shines silvery in the sunlight, and thinner white lines on the neck than Arctic. Breeds on lakes and ponds in the tundra. Winters mainly on nearshore ocean waters, sometimes in sheltered bays. Often in loose groups, especially where food is plentiful; sometimes mixes with other loon species. Rare but regular on inland reservoirs and lakes during migration and winter.
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