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Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Order

ANSERIFORMES

Family

Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Code 4

RNDU

Code 6

AYTCOL

ITIS

175128

ILLUSTRATION

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PHOTOS

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CONSERVATION STATUS

Least-Concern

The Ring-necked Duck prefers to breed in lakes and ponds surrounded by woodlands in the northern United States and Canada. In winter months, this species will typically fly south to southern North America, searching for lakes, ponds, rivers or bays. This species may also occasionally migrate to western Europe, Central America and Costa Rica. This bird dives for its food, and typical diets consist of plants, mollusks, insects and small fish. Nests are built in a bowl shape and located in dry land near open bodies of water. The conservation rating for the Ring-necked Duck is Least Concern.

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SUMMARY

Overview

Ring-necked Duck: Medium-sized diving duck. Black upperparts, weakly tufted, purple-black head. Neck, upper breast, tail are black, lower breast and belly are white, sides are pale gray. Cinnamon collar is hard to see in the field. Dark wings have black-tipped gray flight feathers visible in flight. Blue-gray bill, white ring, black tip.


Range and Habitat

Ring-necked Duck: Breeds from Alaska, Manitoba, and Newfoundland south to California, Arizona, the Great Lakes, and Maine. Spends winters from Washington south along the Pacific coast, east through the southwest and the Gulf Coast states and north to New England. Found on wooded lakes, ponds, and rivers; seldom seen on saltwater except in the southern states.

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SONGS AND CALLS

Listen to Call

Ring-necked Duck

Voice Text

"deeeeer"

INTERESTING FACTS

  • The Ring-necked Duck was first described in 1809 by Edward Donovan, an Anglo Irish writer and amateur zoologist.
  • This species might better be called the "Ring-billed Duck," for its chestnut neck ring is usually seen only at close range, while the white ring on the bill can be a prominent field mark.
  • Because it never gathers in large flocks it has not been hunted extensively like some of its relatives. A fast flier, it undertakes longer migrations than most other diving ducks.
  • A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.

RELATED BIRDS

RANGE MAP

Range Map for Ring-necked Duck Male

TERMINOLOGY

Bird Term Glossary

CREDITS

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

BIRD PHOTO SHARING

BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY AND CAMERAS

BINOCULARS AND OPTICS FOR BIRDING

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UpperpartsX
Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.
BellyX
The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.
BreastX
The upper front part of a bird.
CollarX
Similar to the upper part of the human neck, located at the back of the crown.
Flight feathersX
Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX