The wings of both the drake and the hen are charcoal brown with a long white patch or stripe running down the trailing edge of the wing. Immature birds lack the brown eyepatch and brown patch on the breast, while. Bufflehead identification, all about birds, cornell lab of. Bufflehead duck, bucephala albeola information and images. The breast is brown, the belly is white and the rest of the body is a grey to brown. The female is overall gray brown, with a darker brown head that has a small oval white patch on the side. A buoyant, largeheaded duck that abruptly vanishes and resurfaces as it feeds, the tiny bufflehead spends winters bobbing in bays, estuaries, reservoirs, and lakes. Female mottled brown, with white patch on hind edge of wing.
She has a distinctive white patch at the base of her bill. They have a glossy, greenishblack head with a large white patch on the back. This large diving duck has a glossy greenblack head, white sides and belly, black tail. Melanin is the substance that provides color to the skin and protects it. Summer females have brown upper parts and light wings. This small, bright red brown duck has a black cap extending below the eyes onto the nape, heavy blue bill and black tail.
Bufflehead overview, all about birds, cornell lab of ornithology. Domesticated and feral muscovy ducks can have variable large patches of white to brown. Mallard drakes have the green head, but the body is bascically buff and brown, with white and a blue. Mediumsized, chunky plover with gray upperparts, white underparts, and bright rustbrown breast band and nape. The male has brown back, rich chestnut coloured chest and sides with dark tail and white patch on the rear the white patch is in front of the tail at the water line when it swims. The green on the head, white tail, black rear end, and pale neck ring are good mallard characters. Winter males have a white head and neck with a dark cheek patch. The eyes are yellow and the bill is bluegray with a black tip.
Large, longlegged, longnecked duck with dark brown back and white vshaped rump patch. Ducks, geese and swans the wildfowl are medium to large birds with rather long or very long necks, mostly short, broad bills, short legs and the front three toes joined by webs. Adult males have a dark head with a purple sheen, a black breast, a light grey back, a black tail and white underparts. Northern shoveler spoonbill this midsize duck has a green head like a mallards but a white breast, reddish brown flanks, and distinctively large, spatulalike bill. Female has reddish head with crest, brown body which is darker on top, brown eyes. Male bills are pale blue with a black tip and a thin ring separating the two colours. Male is iridescent with a dark purple back and chest, chest with white spots, head is green with swept back crest, buff colored sides and a white belly. Northern pintail this slender, midsize duck has narrow wings, a long neck, and long, dark central tail feathers. Where the face patch comes from is anybodys guess, and nothing has a blackandtan bill like this bird. It has a swift direct flight with rapid wing beats. Some males have an all black head lacking white cheek patches.
Waterfowlid fa2007 website university of tennessee. Types of ducks, geese and swans in the uk the rspb. Dark brown head and back, light brown breasts, and white above the bill. A somewhat messylooking specimen that was near a large flock of canadas branta canadensis. During the breeding season, the drakes head is black with a white grey cheek and eye patch. In all plumages, longtailed ducks have dark wings and the drakes have long central tail feathers. Migrating duck species are diverse and often easily identified by their appearance. In flight, the wing has a white patch extending across the entire wing. It feeds on aquatic plant seeds, and insects, larvae and snails. The hen has a brown head and body with a white patch around the eye and white under the tail. Females and juveniles have a chocolate brown head, slategray back, wings and tail. Females have a gray brown neck and body, dull buff brown head and neck sides, with a stripe across palegray cheek patch. A buoyant, largeheaded duck that abruptly vanishes and resurfaces as it feeds.
Adult females, however, have a yellow to brown head and neck. Also hoping you might be able to tell me what type of duck she is. If you have seen and photographed a duck, goose, or swan and are struggling to identify it then you can email a photograph to us and we will do our best to identify it for you. The bufflehead is a small, chunky, energetic diving duck that visits the open waters. Small duck white cheek patch on female purple and white. Appearance egyptian goose alopochen aegyptiaca birds of the. Discolored skin patches also commonly develop in a certain part of the body due to a difference in melanin levels. When most nonbirders think of ducks, they picture the common mallard or various hybrid ducks on local ponds.
He has a black head variable size white patch on the side, black back, white breast with a black stripe, reddish brown sides, yellow eyes. Common ducks in central florida ufifas extension polk county. A closer look at the head shows glossy green and purple setting off the striking white patch. Female all dark, with single whitish patch on cheek.
Hen brown body drake gray body black tail white speculum american wigeon the green eyestripe and white belly and shoulder patch helps identify wigeon drakes. The bufflehead is a black and white diving duck with a gray bill and white patch on side of head. Birders know, however, that there are many different types of ducks, few of which actually have the word duck in their name. Birds of africa photo gallery by ingo waschkies at. Bufflehead identification, all about birds, cornell lab of ornithology. The white neck patch starts about where the white on a canadas cheek patch ends, ie.
The male hooded merganser often raises the head feathers which produces a hooded effect. The male has a dark reddish brown head with buff colored crown. In flight adult males have a large white patch on the upperwing. Adult male bufflehead have a white body, black back, and a dark head with a large white patch that wraps around the back of the head. A duck showed up on our front porch one day and continues to live in our back yard. Dabbling duck identification dabbling duck photos dabbling ducks subfamily anatinae consist of fifty to sixty species of duck which include gadwall, garganey, mallard, pintails, shovelers, teal, and wigeon as well as many other ducks.
The lark sparrow is a small bird with distinctive head markings with white or pale brown stripe on the crown bordered by chestnut brown. The blackbellied whistling duck is a midsized waterfowl species. There is no wild duck with a green head and a black body. It has a rapid direct flight with strong, quick wing beats. The white edged side and flank feathers form a striking border between sides and back. Wood duck aix sponsa considered to be the most colorful duck in florida, the wood duck is a dabbler found primarily in swamps and marshes. Length ranges from 47 to 56 cm 19 to 22 in, body mass from 652 to 1,020 g 1.
Read more mallard anas platyrhynchos the male mallard duck is brown gray with green head and narrow white neck ring. Winter females have white head and neck with a dark crown. The head is actually iridescent purple and green in good light. Mediumsized dabbling duck with a slim profile, long narrow neck and pointed tail. Non breeding males lose the copper colour and instead have brown heads.
Female has dark brown top of head and back, light brown sides, white lower part of head and neck, black bill with light tip. Summer males have a dark neck, wings and breasts, dark head with white face, and a dark gray bill with a pink band. Backyard bird identification identify your visitors. Note, however, that wigeon drakes have white shoulder patches. Females and firstyear males are graybrown overall with an oval, white cheek patch. The gray sides, dark rear end, and intricately patterned chest suggest gadwall. The head is dark green click to continue garganey anas querquedula the garganey is small teal. Drakes show graceful patterns of black and white, purple glossed head, white crescentshaped patch between the eye and bill, steep forehead, and short bill.
The best way to undertake backyard bird identification is not necessarily to run to your field guide as soon as you see an unfamiliar bird in your yard. Females are a subdued gray brown with a neat white patch on the cheek. Muscovy duck identification, all about birds, cornell lab of. Male is a mediumsized grayish duck with white patch on hind edge of wing, black rump, and sandy brown head. There are chestnut brown patches on side of the head below the eye. As the name suggests, these are found in marine waters, but they are said to be diving ducks because of their diving quality. The head has graybrown cap and thick black eyestripe broken by a white forehead.
This large diving duck has a glossy greenblack head, white sides and belly, black tail, neck and breast, barred gray flanks and back. Waterfowl identification fwf university of tennessee. Are there any restrictions for keeping a duck on your property. The smaller brant has a shorter neck and lacks white cheek patch. The male has a gracefully sloped black bill, russet. The sides are gray with large white patch on the wings. Male largely white, with black back, black head with greenish and purplish gloss, and large white patch from behind eye to top and back of head. They are the only dabbling duck with a white speculum. Look for the distinctive patch of white, black, and russet on the upper wing. There are specialised groups, such as the mergansers sawbills, which have sawtooth edges to more slender, hooked bills, which help them to grasp fish. Adults are 3845 cm long, with a blue bill and yellow eyes. Males have purplishblackgreen head and whitishgray back.
Adult females have a white band at the base of the bill and a brown head and body. All duck, geese, swan species together photo gallery by r. In the breeding season the male has iridescent purple and green sheen on the head and the white patch extends round the back of the head. Brownish body with black head, long black neck, conspicuous white cheek patch. Bufflehead overview, all about birds, cornell lab of. In good light, the black feathers can show a greenish gloss. Males have a chocolate brown head, a white foreneck, a bluegrey bill with black stripe and a long pin tail. The lesser scaup aythya affinis is a small diving duck.
Audubon thought that his bird might be a cross between a mallard and a gadwall. The head has a black and white striped crown, with yellow spots between the bill and the eyes. What was the primary color of the ducklike bird you saw in. Large white patch on head, dark back, and white chest and flanks are visible. The male redcrested pochard has brown back, reddishorange head, red bill, blackneck, black underparts with white flanks, black tail. The female is dull brown with a white patch on the face at base of bill. It has a long red bill, long head and longish legs, pale gray head and mostly gray brown plumage. The male has a black back and head, white sides and large white patch on head.