E-text prepared by Jason Isbell
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Ducks at a Distance
A Waterfowl Identification Guide
By Bob Hines
Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Washington, D.C. 1978
[Transcribers Note: Table of Contents added by transcriber]
Table of Contents
[Identification is Important]
[What to Look For]
[Eclipse Plumage]
Species Identification:
[Puddle Ducks]
[Mallard]
[Pintail]
[Gadwall]
[Wigeon]
[Shoveler]
[Blue-Winged Teal]
[Cinnamon Teal]
[Green-Winged Teal]
[Wood Duck]
[Black Duck]
[Diving Ducks]
[Canvasback]
[Redheads]
[Ringneck]
[Scaup]
[Goldeneye]
[Bufflehead]
[Ruddy]
[Red-Breasted Merganser]
[Common Merganser]
[Hooded Merganser]
[Whistling Ducks]
[White-Winged Scoter]
[Surf Scoter]
[Black Scoter]
[Common Eider]
[Oldsquaw]
[Harlequin]
[Swans]
[Canada Geese]
[Brant]
[Snow]
[White-Fronted Geese]
[At a Glance Guide]
[Comparative Sizes Of Waterfowl]
[Wetlands Attract Wildlife]
[Administrative Waterfowl Flyways]
Identification is Important
Identifying waterfowl gives many hours of enjoyment to millions of people. This guide will help you recognize birds on the wing—it emphasizes their fall and winter plumage patterns as well as size, shape, and flight characteristics. It does not include local names.
Recognizing the species of ducks and geese can be rewarding to birdwatchers and hunters—and the ducks.
Hunters can contribute to their own sport by not firing at those species that are either protected or scarce, and needed as breeders to restore the flocks. It can add to their daily limit; when extra birds of certain species can be taken legally, hunters who know their ducks on the wing come out ahead.
Knowing a mallard from a merganser has another side: gourmets prefer a corn-fed mallard to the fish duck.
What to Look For
Differences in size, shape, plumage patterns and colors, wing beat, flocking behavior, voice, and habitat—all help to distinguish one species from another.
Flock maneuvers in the air are clues. Mallards, pintails, and wigeon form loose groups; teal and shovelers flash by in small, compact bunches; at a distance, canvasbacks shift from waving lines to temporary V's.
Closer up, individual silhouettes are important. Variations of head shapes and sizes, lengths of wings and tails, and fat bodies or slim can be seen.
Within shotgun range, color areas can be important. Light conditions might make them look different, but their size and location are positive keys. The sound of their wings can help as much as their calls. Flying goldeneyes make a whistling sound; wood ducks move with a swish; canvasbacks make a steady rushing sound. Not all ducks quack; many whistle, squeal, or grunt.
Although not a hard and fast rule, different species tend to use different types of habitat. Puddle ducks like shallow marshes and creeks while divers prefer larger, deeper, and more open waters.
Flock Pattern | Silhouette | Color Areas | Sound
Eclipse Plumage
Drake: Spring Plumage
Hen
Drake: Full Eclipse
Drakes Emerging from Eclipse
Most ducks shed their body feathers twice each year. Nearly all drakes lose their bright plumage after mating, and for a few weeks resemble females. This hen-like appearance is called the eclipse plumage. The return to breeding coloration varies in species and individuals of each species. Blue-winged teal and shovelers may retain the eclipse plumage until well into the winter.
Wing feathers are shed only once a year; wing colors are always the same.
Drake: Fall Plumage
Puddle Ducks
Puddle ducks are typically birds of fresh, shallow marshes and rivers rather than of large lakes and bays. They are good divers, but usually feed by dabbling or tipping rather than submerging.
The speculum, or colored wing patch, is generally iridescent and bright, and often a telltale field mark.
Any duck feeding in croplands will likely be a puddle duck, for most of this group are sure-footed and can walk and run well on land. Their diet is mostly vegetable, and grain-fed mallards or pintails or acorn-fattened wood ducks are highly regarded as food.
FeedingTakeoff
Mallard
Length—24"
Weight—2¾ lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
The mallard is our most common duck, found in all flyways. The males are often called "greenheads." The main wintering area is the lower Mississippi basin, and along the gulf coast, but many stay as far north as open waters permits.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Flocks often feed in early morning and late afternoon in nearby harvested fields, returning to marshes and creeks to spend the night.
The flight is not particularly rapid. Hens have a loud quack; the drake's voice is a low-pitched kwek-kwek.
Typical Flock Pattern
Pintail
Length—26"
Weight—1¾ lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
These ducks use all four flyways, but are most plentiful in the west.
They are extremely graceful and fast fliers, fond of zig-zagging from great heights before leveling off to land.
The long neck and tail make them appear longer than mallards, but in body size and weight they are smaller.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
They are agile on land and often feed in grain fields. The drakes whistle; the hens have a coarse quack.
Typical Flock Pattern
Gadwall
Length—21"
Weight—2 lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
Gadwalls are most numerous in the Central Flyway, but not too common anywhere. They are often called "gray mallards" or "gray ducks." They are one of the earliest migrants, seldom facing cold weather.
They are the only puddle ducks with a white speculum.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Small, compact flocks fly swiftly, usually in a direct line. Wingbeats are rapid.
Drakes whistle and kack-kack; hens quack like a mallard, but softer.
Typical Flock Pattern
Wigeon
Length—21"
Weight—1¾ lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
These are nervous birds, quick to take alarm. Their flight is fast, irregular, with many twists and turns. In a bunched flock, their movements have been compared to those of pigeons.
When open water is handy, wigeons often raft up offshore until late afternoon when they move to marshes and ponds to feed.
Hen
Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
The white belly and forewing are very showy in the air. Drakes whistle; hens have a loud kaow and a lower qua-awk.
Typical Flock Pattern
Shoveler
Length—19½"
Weight—1½ lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
Shovelers, 'spoonbills' to many, are early migrants, moving out at the first frost. The largest numbers are in the Central and Pacific flyways.
The usual flight is steady and direct. When startled, the small flocks twist and turn in the air like teal.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
They are not highly regarded as table birds, because one third of the usual diet is animal matter.
Drakes call woh-woh and took-took; the hen's quack is feeble.
Typical Flock Pattern
Blue-Winged Teal
Length—16"
Weight—15 oz.
Hen
Eclipse Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Their small size and twisting turning flight gives the illusion of great speed. The small, compact flocks commonly fly low over the marshes, and often take the hunter by surprise.
They are more vocal than most ducks—their high-pitched peeping and nasal quacking is commonly heard in spring and to a lesser extent in fall.
These teal are among the first ducks to migrate each fall, and one of the last in the spring.
Hen Drake
Cinnamon Teal
Drake
Eclipse Drake
Blue-Winged Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
In the Pacific Flyway, cinnamon teal are far more common than blue-wings. The hens look alike and the habits of both species are similar.
The pale blue forewing patch is the best field mark, as drakes are usually in eclipse until January or longer.
Drakes have a whistling peep; hens utter a low quack.
Typical Flock Pattern
Green-Winged Teal
Length—15 in.
Weight—14 oz.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
Quite hardy—some birds stay as far north as open water is found.
The smallest and one of the most common of our ducks. Their tiny size gives the impression of great speed, but mallards can fly faster. Their flight is often low, erratic, with the entire flock twisting and turning as one unit.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
They nest as far north as Alaska, and migrate in all four flyways. Early fall drakes are usually still in full eclipse plumage.
Drakes whistle and twitter; hens have a slight quack.
Typical Flock Pattern
Wood Duck
Length—18½ in.
Weight—1½ lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
Found in all flyways; most numerous in the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways and fewest in the Central.
They are early migrants; most of them have left the northern States by mid-November.
Frequents wooded streams and ponds; perches in trees. Flies through thick timber with speed and ease and often feeds on acorns, berries, and grapes on the forest floors.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Flight is swift and direct; flocks are usually small.
In the air, their wings make a rustling, swishing sound. Drakes call hoo-w-ett, often in flight; hens have a cr-r-ek when frightened.
Typical Flock Pattern
Black Duck
Length—24 in.
Weight—2¾ lbs.
Eclipse Drake Hen
Drake
Similar Sexes
Typical Flock Pattern
A bird of the eastern States, primarily the Atlantic Flyway and, to a lesser extent, the Mississippi.
Shy and wary, regarded as the wariest of all ducks.
Often seen in company of mallards, but along the Atlantic coast frequents the salt marshes and ocean much more than mallards.
Flight is swift, usually in small flocks.
White wing lining in contrast to very dark body plumage is a good identification clue.
The hen's quack and the drake's kwek-kwek are duplicates of the mallards.
Hen Drake
Diving Ducks
Diving ducks frequent the larger, deeper lakes and rivers, and coastal bays and inlets.
The colored wing patches of these birds lack the brilliance of the speculums of puddle ducks. Since many of them have short tails, their huge, paddle feet may be used as rudders in flight, and are often visible on flying birds. When launching into flight, most of this group patter along the water before becoming airborne.
They feed by diving, often to considerable depths. To escape danger, they can travel great distances underwater, emerging only enough to show their head before submerging again.
Their diets of fish, shellfish, mollusks, and aquatic plants make them second choice, as a group, for sportsmen. Canvasbacks and redheads fattened on eel grass or wild celery are notable exceptions.
Since their wings are smaller in proportion to the size and weight of their bodies, they have a more rapid wingbeat than puddle ducks.
Takeoff
Feeding Landing
Canvasback
Length—22 in.
Weight—3 lbs.
Hen
Eclipse Drake
Normally late to start south, canvasbacks migrate in lines and irregular V's.
In feeding areas, compact flocks fly in indefinite formations. Their wingbeat is rapid and noisy; their speed is the swiftest of all our ducks.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Feeding behavior is highly variable. In some areas they feed at night and spend the day rafted up in open waters; in other areas they feed inshore mornings and evenings.
On the water, body size and head shape distinguish them from scaups and redheads.
Drakes croak, peep, and growl; hens have a mallard-like quack.
Typical Flock Pattern
Redheads
Length—20 in.
Weight—2½ lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
Range coast to coast, with the largest numbers in the Central Flyway. Migratory flocks travel in V's; move in irregular formations over feeding areas. Often found associating with canvasback.
In the air, they give the impression of always being in a hurry.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Usually spend the day in large rafts in deep water; feed morning and evening in shallower sections.
Drakes purr and meow; hens have a loud squak, higher than a hen mallard's.
Typical Flock Pattern
Ringneck
Length—17 in.
Weight—2½ lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
Similar in appearance to scaups, but more often found in fresh marshes and wooded ponds. In flight, the dark wings are different from the white-edged wings of scaup.
Faint brown ring on drake's neck never shows in the field; light bands at tip and base of bill are conspicuous.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Fly as small flocks in open formation; often land without circling. Drakes purr; hens are usually silent.
Typical Flock Pattern
Scaup
Greater—Length—18½ in.
Weight—2 lbs.
Lesser—Length—17 in.
Weight—1-7/8 lbs.
Eclipse Drake
Hen
Lesser Hen
Drake
Greater Hen
Drake
Except for the wing marks, greater and lesser scaup appear nearly identical in the field.
The light band near the trailing edges of the wings runs almost to the tip in the greater scaup, but only about half way in the lesser.
Greater scaup prefer large open water areas; lesser scaup often use marshes and ponds.
Greater Scaup Drake
Lesser Scaup Drake
Lesser Drake
Hen
Greater Drake
Hen
Lesser Drake
Hen
Both species migrate late, sometimes just before freezeup.
Flock movements are rapid, often erratic, usually in compact groups.
Hens are silent; drake lesser scaup purr; drake greater scaup have a discordant scaup, scaup.
Typical Flock Pattern
Goldeneye
Common—Length—19 in.
Weight—2¼ lbs.
Barrow's—Length—19 in.
Weight—2¾ lbs.
Hen Both Species
Common Eclipse Drake
These are active, strong-winged fliers moving singly or in small flocks, often high in the air. Distinctive wing-whistling sound in flight has earned the name of whistlers.
Goldeneyes generally move south late in the season; most of them winter on coastal waters and the Great Lakes. Inland, they like rapids and fast water.
Barrow's Common
Hen | Drake Hen | Drake
Barrow's Drake
Common Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Barrow's goldeneye, predominantly a Westerner, is less wary than the common goldeneye.
Hens of both species are look-alikes.
Drakes have a piercing speer-speer—hens a low quack. Both are usually quiet.
Typical Flock Pattern
Bufflehead
Length—14½ in.
Weight—1 lb.
Hen
Eclipse Drake
Stragglers migrate south in mid-fall, but the largest numbers move just ahead of freezeup. Most flocks in feeding areas are small—5 or 6 birds, with more hens and immatures than adult drakes.
Very small size, bold black and white color pattern, and low, swift flight are field marks. Unlike most divers, they can fly straight up from a watery takeoff.
Hen Drake
Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Largest concentrations are on both seacoasts and along the Gulf of Mexico. Inland, they will remain as far north as open water permits.
Usually silent. Drakes squeak and have a guttural note; hens quack weakly.
Typical Flock Pattern
Ruddy
Length—15½ in.
Weight—1-1/3 lbs.
Winter Drake Hen
The ruddy duck often dives or swims away from danger rather than flying. When flying, their small wings stroke so fast they resemble bumblebees.
Sexes Similar
Summer Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
They are early to mid-fall migrants.
Drakes often cock their tails upright at an angle, the only species to habitually do so.
Both hens and drakes are silent in the fall.
Typical Flock Pattern
Red-Breasted Merganser
Length—23 in.
Weight—2½ lbs.
Eclipse Drake Drake
Hen
Hen Drake
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
These birds winter most abundantly in coastal waters, including the Gulf of Mexico, and to a lesser extent, the Great Lakes.
Their flight, strong and direct, is usually low over the water. They are difficult to distinguish in flight from the common merganser.
Voice: Seldom heard.
Typical Flock Pattern
Common Merganser
Length—25½ in.
Weight—2½ lbs.
Eclipse Drake Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
This species is larger than the red-breasted merganser, and is one of the largest of our ducks. It is one of the last to migrate south, and is more common than the red-breasted merganser on inland waters.
Flocks move in "follow the leader" style, low over the water.
The only call seems to be a startled croak.
Typical Flock Pattern
Hen and Drake Wing
Hooded Merganser
Length—18 in.
Weight—1½ lbs.
Eclipse Drake Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Drake
Hen
Often seen in pairs, or very small flocks. Short rapid wingstrokes create an impression of great speed.
Winters in the inland waters of all coastal States; seldom goes to salt water.
Voice: Seldom heard in fall.
Hen Drake
Whistling Ducks
Length—18-19 in.
Weight—1¾ lbs.
Fulvous
Black-Bellied
Fulvous
Black-Bellied
The trailing legs and rounded wings of these slow flying ducks makes them look bigger than they are.
Both species are primarily Mexican. In the U.S., the black-bellied is found only in south Texas and Louisiana. The fulvous also occurs there and in Florida with occasional stragglers further north along both coasts and the Mississippi Valley. The fulvous is the more common of the two species in the United States.
Sexes are alike. Both species have shrill whistling calls.
Fulvous Black-Bellied
White-Winged Scoter
Length—21½ in.
Weight—3½ lbs.
Immature Drake
Hen
The three scoters on these two pages are sea ducks, wintering on open coastal waters. White-wings are among the heaviest and largest of all ducks.
Surf Scoter
Length—19½ in.
Weight—2 lbs.
Immature Drake
Hen
Like all scoters, these birds move along our coasts in loose flocks, stringing into irregular, wavy lines. Drakes can be distinguished from other scoters by two white patches on their head and the bright color of the bill.
Flight is strong, direct, usually close to the waves.
Black Scoter
Length—19½ in.
Weight—2½ lbs.
Immature Drake
Hen
In flight, drakes appear all black except for the flash of the slight gray underwing and the bright yellow swelling at the base of the upper bill.
Scoters feed on mollusks, crabs, and some fish and very little vegetation. They are locally known as "coots."
Common Eider
Length—23½ in.
Weight—5 lbs.
Eclipse Drake Drake
Hen
Thick-necked stocky birds, alternately flapping and sailing in flight; flocks string out in a line, close to the water. Occurs in the United States chiefly along New England coasts and occasionally south to New Jersey.
Other eiders—king, spectacled and Stellar's—occur in Alaska and are not pictured in this guide. King eiders occasionally are found in north Atlantic coastal waters.
Oldsquaw
Length—20½ in.
Weight—2 lbs.
Summer Drake Winter Drake
Winter Hen
A slim, brightly plumaged sea duck. Smaller than the scoters or eiders.
Flight is swift and low with constantly changing flock formations. Ranges along both coasts and the Great Lakes.
One of the most vocal of ducks; drakes have a loud pleasant caloo, caloo, constantly heard.
Harlequin
Length—17 in.
Weight—1½ lbs.
Drake Eclipse Drake
Hen
Glossy slate-blue plumage enlivened by white stripes and spots give the adult male harlequin a striking appearance. The female resembles a small female scoter. At a distance, both sexes look black. Flight is swift, with abrupt turns. Flocks are small and compact. Ranges both coasts, north from New Jersey and San Francisco. Uncommon.
Swans
Trumpeter—Length—59 in.
Weight—28 lbs.
Whistling—Length—52 in.
Weight—16 lbs.
Trumpeter Immature: Both Species
Whistling
Once thought to be rare, trumpeter swans are slowly increasing in Alaska and on western refuges and parks.
Whistling swans are common and increasing. They winter near Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound and Salton Sea. Occasionally found in fields.
Both species are large with pure white plumage.
Canada Geese
Numerous and popular, Canada geese are often called "honkers." Includes several races varying in weight from 3 to over 12 pounds. All have black heads and necks, white cheeks, similar habitats and voices. Sexes are identical.
Brant
Length—24-25 in.
Weight—3¼ - 3¾ lbs.
Black Brant
Brant
These are sea geese, the blacks wintering south to Baja, California, in the Pacific. The Atlantic race winters from Virginia northward. Flight is swift, in irregular and changing flock patterns.
Snow Geese
Length—29-31 in.
Weight—6½-7½ lbs.
Immature Adult
Immature Blue Adult Blue
Two races of snow geese are recognized: greater snows along the Atlantic Coast, and lesser snows elsewhere on the continent. Blue geese are a color phase of the lesser snow.
White-Fronted Geese
Length—29 in.
Weight—6¼ lbs.
Immature
Adult
Migrates chiefly in the Central and Pacific flyways but also present in the Mississippi. Rare in the Atlantic Flyway. Appears brownish gray at a distance. Often called "specklebelly".
Most distinctive characteristic of the V-shaped flocks is the high pitched call kow-kow-kow-kow.
Comparative Sizes Of Waterfowl
All birds on these pages are drawn to the same scale.
Wetlands Attract Wildlife
There's more than just ducks in our marshes. Knowing and identifying other birds and animals add to the enjoyment of being in a blind.
The same sources of food and shelter that draw waterfowl to ponds and marshes also attract other forms of wildlife.
Protected species are sometimes more numerous than ducks or geese.
Money from Duck Stamp sales is used exclusively to purchase wetlands, preserving areas for ducks, geese, and all wildlife for the enjoyment and pleasure of hunters and non-hunters alike.
Great Blue Heron Blackbird
Ibis Egret
Cormorant White Pelican
Black Tern Common Tern Marsh Hawk
Yellowlegs Herring Gull
Grebe Dowitcher Short-Eared Owl
Administrative Waterfowl Flyways
Pacific Central
Mississippi Atlantic
Waterfowl Flyways
The term "flyway" has long been used to designate the migration routes of birds. For management purposes, four waterfowl flyways—Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic—were established in the United States in 1948. To varying degrees the waterfowl populations using each of these flyways differ in abundance, species composition, migration pathways, and breeding ground origin. There are differences, also, in levels of shooting pressure and harvest.
For the most part flyway boundaries follow State lines. However, the boundary between the Pacific and the Central flyway general follows the Continental Divide.
There are some problems in matching waterfowl migration corridors with flyway boundaries because some species nest and winter in areas that do not occur along a north-south axis. These species cross flyway boundaries during migration. On balance, the present arrangement is useful in that it permits reasonable management of waterfowl. At some future time, it is possible that further rearrangement of boundaries may permit better management of the waterfowl resource.
Flyway Councils
In 1952, Flyway Councils were formed in each of the four flyways. The Council in each flyway is made up of representatives from the wildlife agencies of the States in that flyway—one representative from each State. The Councils study flyway problems, develop waterfowl management recommendations, and generally work closely with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in implementing waterfowl management and research programs.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1978 O—247-777
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402
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Created in 1849, the Department of the Interior—America's Department of Natural Resources—is concerned with the management, conservation, and development of the Nation's water, fish, wildlife, mineral, forest, and park and recreational resources. It also has major responsibilities for Indian and Territorial affairs.
As the Nation's principal conservation agency, the Department works to assure that nonrenewable resources are developed and used wisely, that park and recreational resources are conserved for the future, and that renewable resources make their full contribution to the progress, prosperity, and security of the United States—now and in the future.