Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck, male

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Ring-necked Duck, female

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Other Names

The most common diving duck to be found on small ponds in migration, the Ring-necked Duck is more easily recognized by the bold white ring around its bill than the subtle purplish one around its neck.

Cool Facts

• Both the common name and the scientific name "collaris" refer to one of the Ring-necked Duck's most inconspicuous field marks. Rarely visible in the field, the chestnut collar on the black neck is noticeable when the bird is in the hand. Such subtle characters would have been obvious to the people first describing the duck from dead specimens.

Description

• Size: 39-46 cm (15-18 in)
• Wingspan: 62-63 cm (24-25 in)
• Weight: 490-910 g (17.3-32.12 ounces)

• Medium-sized diving duck.
• Bump or peak on back of head.
• Bill bluish with white ring near black tip.
• Male with black head, chest, back, and rear end, gray sides, and a white stripe up the shoulder.

Sex Differences

Breeding male bold black-and-white; female drab brown with white eyering.

Immature

Similar to breeding female.

Similar Species

• Scaup have light backs and lack the ring around the bill. Female scaup have white patches at the base of their bills and lack an eyering.
• Female Redhead has rounded head and paler back.

Sound

Usually silent, courting calls soft and growly.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds across Canada southward to the northern United States, and farther southward to northern California and Colorado.

Winter Range

Winters across the southern United States, up the coasts, and southward through Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Other Names

Morillon á collier (French)
Pato de collar (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Hohman, W. L., and R. T. Eberhardt. 1998. Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris). In The Birds of North America, No. 329 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.