Ruddy Duck

Ruddy Duck, male, breeding plumage

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Ruddy Duck, female, February

Ruddy Duck, male, nonbreeding plumage

Ruddy Ducks, male (R), female (L), breeding plumage, Colorado, June

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

A member of the tribe of "stiff-tailed ducks," the Ruddy Duck has a spiky tail that it often holds straight up in display.

Description

• Size: 35-43 cm (14-17 in)
• Wingspan: 56-62 cm (22-24 in)
• Weight: 300-850 g (10.59-30.01 ounces)

• Small duck.
• Large white cheek patches.
• Dark cap.
• Bill blue or bluish.
• Long tail often held up.
• Breeding male bright cinnamon red.

Sex Differences

Male with bright white cheeks; reddish in breeding plumage. Female browner with dark line through cheek patch.

Immature

Similar to adult female.

Similar Species

• Female Black Scoter has whitish cheeks, but is larger, darker, has a dark chest, and prefers salt water (ruddy prefers fresh water).

Sound

Usually silent except in courtship. Male makes series of muffled popping noises.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds across American West from Northwestern Territories southward to Mexico, and in scattered localities in Midwest and Northeast. Also in Caribbean. Introduced to Britain.

Winter Range

Winters along coasts from southern Canada southward, and southern United States southward to northern Central America and the Caribbean.

Other Names

Canard roux (French)
Pato zambullidor (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Brua, R. B. 2001. Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 696 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.