Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck
Female
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Genus: Aythya Species: collaris
Binomial name
Aythya collaris

Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris is a smaller diving duck.

The adult male has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back. The adult female has a pale brown head and body with a dark brown back, a dark bill with a more subtle light band than the male and brown eyes. The cinnamon neck ring is usually difficult to observe.

Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes or ponds in the northern United States and Canada.

They overwinter in the southern United States usually in lakes, ponds, rivers or bays.

This strong migrant is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe.

These birds feed mainly by diving. They mainly eat aquatic plants with some molluscs, aquatic insects and small fish.