Ring-necked Duck
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.
● Song:
"deeeeer"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Ring-necked Duck: Eats mostly aquatic plants and seeds, but also feeds on insects, mollusks, worm, and crustaceans; forages by diving from the water surface.
● Breeding & nesting:
Ring-necked Duck: Six to fourteen olive, gray, olive brown, or green buff eggs are laid in a down-lined ground nest concealed in vegetation near the edge of a pond. Incubation ranges from 25 to 29 days and is carried out by the female.
● Similar species:
Ring-necked Duck: Greater and Lesser scaups lack white ring on bills. Tufted Duck has a more rounded head with a tuft on back of crown.
● Range & 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.