The Wood Duck Nests In Trees!
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Wood Duck male photo by Steve Berliner
What an incredibly beautiful bird is the Wood Duck. Many people actually consider the wood duck as being the most beautiful of all water fowl. They are about 19 - 21 inches long with an average wingspan of 29 inches. As you can see from this great photo by Steve Berliner, the adult male or drake has distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes.
The female, as you will see in another photo, is less colorful. She is mostly brown and has a white eye ring and a white throat. Both the male and female have crested heads. Listen to the wood duck’s call here:
The wood duck is one of the only ducks that nests in trees. There breeding habitat is near wooded swamps, marshes, shallow lakes and ponds in eastern North America and the west coast of the U.S. and Mexico. When they are swimming wood ducks bob their heads back and forth in a jerking motion making them pretty easy to spot.
