Wood duck

The wood duck or Carolina duck (Aix

sponsa) is a species of perching duck
found in North America. It is one of the
most colorful North American
waterfowl.[2][3]
 Wood duck

Male wood duck

 Female wood duck
Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Anseriformes

Family: Anatidae
Genus: Aix
Species: A. sponsa

Binomial name

Aix sponsa
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Range of A. sponsa
     Breeding range
     Year-round range
     Wintering range
Synonyms

Anas sponsa Linnaeus, 1758

Wood duck in flight

Wood duck

Lifting off to fly

Description
Close up of male head

Female at Yellow Lake

 Call

Several Wood Ducks calling

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The wood duck is a medium-sized

perching duck. A typical adult is from 47 to
54 cm (19 to 21 in) in length with a
wingspan of between 66 to 73 cm (26 to
29 in). This is about three-quarters of the
length of an adult mallard. It shares its
genus with the Asian Mandarin duck (Aix
galericulata).[2]

The adult male has distinctive

multicolored iridescent plumage and red
eyes,with a distinctive white flare down the
neck. The female, less colorful, has a
white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both
adults have crested heads.

The male's call is a rising whistle, jeeeeee;

the females utter a drawn-out, rising
squeal, do weep do weep, when flushed,
and a sharp cr-r-ek, cr-e-ek for an alarm
call.[4]

Behavior
Their breeding habitat is wooded swamps,
shallow lakes, marshes or ponds, and
creeks in eastern North America, the west
coast of the United States and western
Mexico. They usually nest in cavities in
trees close to water, although they will
take advantage of nesting boxes in
wetland locations. Females line their nests
with feathers and other soft materials, and
the elevation provides some protection
from predators.[5] Unlike most other ducks,
the wood duck has sharp claws for
perching in trees and can, in southern
regions, produce two broods in a single
season—the only North American duck
that can do so.[4]

Females typically lay between 7 and 15

white-tan eggs that incubate for an
average of 30 days.[4] However, if nesting
boxes are placed too close together,
females may lay eggs in the nests of their
neighbours, which may lead to nests which
may contain as many as 30 eggs and
unsuccessful incubation, a behaviour
known as "nest dumping".[6]

After hatching, the ducklings climb to the

opening of the nest cavity, jump down
from the nest tree and make their way to
water. The mother calls them to her, but
does not help them in any way.[5] They
prefer nesting over water so the young
have a soft landing, but will nest up to
140 m (460 ft) away from the shoreline.
The day after they hatch, the young climb
to the nest entrance and jump to the
ground. The ducklings can swim and find
their own food by this time."

These birds feed by dabbling or walking on

land. Dabbling means to search for food
from the surface of the water, as opposed
to diving underneath the surface to
scavenge for food. They mainly eat
berries, acorns, and seeds, but also
insects, making them omnivores.[5]
Distribution

In Central Park, New York, USA

The birds are year-round residents in parts

of its southern range, but the northern
populations migrate south for the
winter.[7][8] They overwinter in the southern
United States near the Atlantic coast. 75%
of the wood ducks in the Pacific Flyway
are non-migratory.[8] They are also popular,
due to their attractive plumage, in
waterfowl collections and as such are
frequently recorded in Great Britain as
escapes—populations have become
temporarily established in Surrey in the
past but are not considered to be self-
sustaining in the fashion of the closely
related Mandarin duck. Given its native
distribution the species is also a potential
natural vagrant to Western Europe and
there have been records in areas such as
Cornwall, Scotland and the Isles of Scilly
which some observers consider may relate
to wild birds; however, given the wood
duck's popularity in captivity it would be
extremely difficult to prove their
provenance. There is a small feral
population in Dublin.

Conservation
The population of the wood duck was in
serious decline in the late 19th century as
a result of severe habitat loss and market
hunting both for meat and plumage for the
ladies' hat market in Europe. By the
beginning of the 20th century, wood ducks
had virtually disappeared from much of
their former range. In response to the
Migratory Bird Treaty established in 1916
and enactment of the U.S. Migratory Bird
Treaty Act of 1918, wood duck populations
began to recover slowly. By ending
unregulated hunting and taking measures
to protect remaining habitat, wood duck
populations began to rebound in the
1920s. The development of the artificial
nesting box in the 1930s gave an
additional boost to wood duck
production.[9] More information on the
efficacy of nest boxes can be found in the
Conservation Evidence webpage. [10]

Landowners as well as park and refuge

managers can encourage wood ducks by
building wood duck nest boxes near lakes,
ponds, and streams. Fulda, Minnesota has
adopted the wood duck as an unofficial
mascot, and a large number of nest boxes
can be found in the area.

Expanding North American beaver

populations throughout the wood duck's
range have also helped the population
rebound as beavers create an ideal
forested wetland habitat for wood
ducks.[8]

The population of the wood duck has

increased a great deal in the last several
years. The increase has been due to the
work of many people constructing wood
duck boxes and conserving vital habitat
for the wood ducks to breed. During the
open waterfowl season, U.S. hunters have
only been allowed to take two wood ducks
per day in the Atlantic and Mississippi
Flyways. However, for the 2008–2009
season, the limit was raised to three. The
wood duck limit remains at two in the
Central Flyway and at seven in the Pacific
Flyway. It is the second most commonly
hunted duck in North America, after the
mallard.

In popular culture
In 2013, the Royal Canadian Mint created
two coins to commemorate the wood
duck. The two coins are each part of a
three coin set to help promote Ducks
Unlimited Canada as well as celebrate its
75th anniversary.[11]

Gallery
Pair

Male
Taking off from ice
Male in eclipse plumage
Duckling
Male in profile
Male wood duck profile
Male grooming himself
Male in flight profile
 Male on ground

References
1. BirdLife International (2016). "Aix
sponsa" . IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species. IUCN. 2016:
e.T22680104A92843477.
 doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-
3.RLTS.T22680104A92843477.en .
2. "Wood Duck" . All About Birds. Cornell
Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 9 July
2010.
3. Dawson, William (2007). Neher, Anna
(ed.). Dawson's Avian Kingdom
Selected Writings. California Legacy.
pp. 37–38. ISBN 978-1-59714-062-1.
4. "Wood Duck" . Ducks Unlimited
Canada. Archived from the original on
 11 March 2015. Retrieved 1 December
2014.
5. "Wood Duck Fact Sheet, Lincoln Park
Zoo" . lpzoo.org. Retrieved 24 August
2013.
. "Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) Dump-
Nests" . Northern Prairie Wildlife
Research Center. Retrieved 13 January
2012.
7. "Wood Duck" . Hinterland's Who's Who.
Archived from the original on 23
 December 2014. Retrieved
1 December 2014.
. "Wood Duck" . BirdWeb: The Birds of
Washington State. Seattle Audubon
Society. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
9. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) (PDF)
(Report). USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service. Retrieved 9 July
2010.
10. "Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)" .
Conservation Evidence. Retrieved
14 February 2020.
11. "Royal Canadian Mint Coins Celebrate
the 75th Anniversary of Ducks
Unlimited Canada While Honouring
Other Icons of Canadian Nature,
Culture And History" . Mint.ca. 6
March 2013. Retrieved 24 August
2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media

related to Aix sponsa.
Wikispecies has information related to
Aix sponsa

Wood Duck Society

BirdLife species factsheet for Aix
sponsa
"Wood Duck media" . Internet Bird
Collection.
Wood duck photo gallery at VIREO
(Drexel University)
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Wood_duck&oldid=946065404"

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