A compilation portfolio containing over 90 images detailing 20 species of ducks
 from wildlife refuges and other locations in the United States, Canada, and Japan.

Many other images of ducks are displayed elsewhere on this website.
Links to other sections and pages will be provided (opening in a new tab).

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Mallard 4922

The iridescent green and sapphire blue head of a spring Mallard drake
stands out against the azure blue waters of Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Blue-Winged Teals 0411

Blue-Winged Teals approaching the beach on Sanibel Island, Florida, en-masse.

The Blue-Winged Teal is a small dabbling duck which is closely related to the Cinnamon Teal (below).

Bufflehead 9005

A head-on shot of a male Bufflehead taken at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in British Columbia.
This image taken in flat light on a dark, overcast day allows the viewer to see the greenish
face and the purple iridescence on the top of the head of this interestingly colored duck.

Buffleheads 3366

A female Bufflehead preens as she swims behind her male in a canal at Bolsa Chica.
Buffleheads and Green-Winged Teals (shown below) are the smallest American ducks.

The Bufflehead is a small, diving sea duck that prefers coastal waters and
open inland waters. They breed in small wooded lakes and ponds in boreal
forests and taiga habitats of Alaska and Canada. They evolved their small
size to allow them to nest in abandoned cavities of the Flicker in aspens
and poplars near the water. They compete with small birds for nests.

Cinnamon Teals 4350

Cinnamon Teals at sunset on the waters of Newport Back Bay (south of Bolsa Chica).

Cinnamon Teal 4339

The Cinnamon Teal is a small dabbling duck with Cinnamon-brown coloring, red eyes and a black bill.
The long, spatulate bill is used to dabble for plant food, but they also eat mollusks and aquatic insects.
The bill of the Cinnamon Teal is shorter than that of the Northern Shoveler, but quite similar in shape.

Green-Winged Teal 4152

A Green-Winged Teal stands in the mudflats of Newport Back Bay.

Green-Winged Teal 4134 M

The Green-Winged Teal is a small dabbling duck about the size of a Bufflehead.
The male has an arcing iridescent green eye patch in breeding plumage which is
similar to the eye patch of the Widgeon, on a round, cinnamon brown head which
is a bit lighter and less red than the Cinnamon Teal. The chest is buff with dark
speckles, the wings are dark gray-brown and strongly patterned, with a white
shoulder bar and an iridescent green patch, and the tail is buff and black.

All of the landscape (horizontal) large version images linked from the thumbnails are 1500 pixels wide.
Portrait (vertical) images are 1200 pixels tall (1290 pixels with title bar). Images designated with an “M”
in the shot number are 5:4 aspect ratio, 1500 x 1290 with a title bar, or 1500 x 1200 without a title bar.

Green-Winged Teal 4371

The Green-Winged Teal is the smallest of the dabbling ducks and has a very round head.
They typically live in shallow wetlands (these images were taken at Newport Back Bay).
They dabble for plants, insects and invertebrates, but they prefer eating on mud flats.

More images of Buffleheads and Teals are in the Bolsa Chica section.

Lesser Scaup X0124

A female Lesser Scaup patrols the Main Canal at the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.

The Lesser Scaup is a small diving duck, a few inches larger than the Bufflehead.
They have a blue bill with a nail on the end. Males are similar to Ring-Necked Ducks
except the Ring-Necked male has a white stripe across the bill and a white border
at the base of the bill (Ring-Necked males are shown further down on this page).
Lesser Scaups are a few inches smaller than Greater Scaups and 20% lighter,
but they are otherwise somewhat difficult to distinguish from each other. Both
Scaups dive and sift through the mud at the bottom for mollusks and clams.
The Lesser Scaup has the largest population of all diving ducks, but they
have been in rapid decline over the last 30 years for unknown reasons.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Mallard Quack 0346

A Mallard auditioning for the AFLAC spokesduck position.

He was not successful. They prefer white Pekin ducks (below).

Pekin Duck Portrait 0258

Pekin Duck Portrait 0338

The Pekin Duck is a domesticated duck which was bred from the Mallard in China. Their ancestors were
small ducks with black feathers which lived in the canals in Nanjing. When the capital was moved to Peking
(later renamed Beijing), grain barges spilled grain which the ducks fed on, gradually increasing in size and
growing white feathers. They were domesticated by Chinese farmers around 900 AD, and were brought to
Long Island, New York in 1873, where they became the most popular commercial duck breed in the USA.
Pekin Ducks are large, white ducks with yellow or orange bills and feet, and are generally too heavy to fly.

Mallard X0111

A Mallard drake swimming in the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.

Mallard X0520

A Mallard drake in the pond at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.

Mallards are dabbling ducks (they feed mainly at the surface rather than diving). Males (drakes) have an
iridescent green head, a purplish-brown breast, and a curled central tail feather called the drake feather.
The drake’s bill is yellow-orange with a black tip, the female bill is darker, ranging from black to orange.
Females are mottled buff to brown, with a dark crown and eye stripe like most female dabbling ducks.

Mallard Hybrid 1872

Mallards interbreed widely, yielding numerous hybrids.

Mallard Hybrid 4950 M

Mallard 4930

Sometimes, the iridescent head of a Mallard drake is both green and sapphire blue,
as seen in these images of an individual at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in the spring.

Mallard 4921

Mallard 4915

The blue may be due to variation between individuals or the angle of the light. I haven’t figured that out.

Mallard Portrait 8756

Detail of the iridescent green head and yellow-orange bill of a Mallard Drake. Note the white neck band.

Mallard Female 6629

Mallard Female 6808

Mallard females at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge. Note the mottled plumage and dark eye stripe.
The tail feathers of the female are straight (females do not have the curled drake feather).

Angry Mallard Female 1926

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Mating Flight 1515

Two Mallards in flight over the LA River. Note the iridescent
blue speculum feathers with broad white bands on the wings.

Mallard Female and Ducklings 1063

Mallard Female and Ducklings 6955

Mallard females with their broods of ducklings at Baldwin Lake (LA Arboretum) and at Huntington Gardens.

Mallard Female and Ducklings 1064

A Mallard female quacks at her brood of ducklings on Baldwin Lake.

Mallard Ducklings 1021

Mallard Duckling Peekaboo 1033

Mallard ducklings at Baldwin Lake (LA Arboretum).

Marching Mallard Ducklings 1055

Mallard ducklings marching across the grass at the LA Arboretum.

Mergansers X3259

Common Mergansers swimming in Silver Salmon Creek near the coast of Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.
This is a group of females with males in eclipse (non-breeding) plumage (images were taken in early August).

Mergansers are large, crested fish-eating seaducks, although they prefer rivers and creeks. They have a
serrated edge on their long, thin bill that helps them to grip the fish, and are sometimes called sawbills.
Besides fish, they also eat mollusks, crustaceans, worms and amphibians. They nest in tree cavities.

Merganser Display X3252

Merganser Display X3253

Juvenile male Mergansers practicing their display techniques in Silver Salmon Creek, Alaska.

Mergansers X3261

A female (left) and four juvenile Mergansers with white and brown eye-stripes in Silver Salmon Creek, Alaska.

The Mergansers swim down the creek to its mouth at Cook Inlet, then fish their way back upstream,
competing with 1000+ pound Alaskan Coastal Brown Bears for the tasty fish in Silver Salmon Creek.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Mandarin Duck HS2267

Closely related to the Wood Duck, the Mandarin has a red bill, an iridescent purple-green
forehead and head stripe tapering to a ruddy-maroon at the read of the head, a gradient
crescent above the eye, and “whiskers” extending from the cheeks below the eye. The
crest at the back of the head is greenish and purple, with white streaks. The back is
patterned in iridescent blue, green and reddish-brown. Flanks are buff and blue,
and at the rear are two russet-orange wingtips that the bird raises as “sails”.
The chest and the tail are an iridescent purple-green with white borders.
An altogether unforgettable, brilliantly colored and unmistakable bird.

Mandarin Confusion HS5483

A Mandarin male is curious about the clicking from the long black lens.

Mandarins breed in densely wooded areas near shallow lakes, ponds and marshes.
The female lays her eggs in a nest built inside a tree cavity near the water in the spring.

These images were taken in the shallow pond above the lake in Franklin Canyon, LA.
Franklin Lake was the lagoon in the 1954 classic “Creature from the Black Lagoon”.
The pond this Mandarin is swimming in was the namesake for “On Golden Pond”.

Mandarin Display X7822 M

Mandarin Display X7826 M

A Mandarin performs a mating display in deep shadows in the Franklin Canyon pond.

Mandarin Duck X7801

The Mandarin Duck is a perching duck, so-called based upon its tendency to perch high in trees.
Native to eastern Asia, there are several isolated populations of Mandarin Ducks in the USA which
originated when captive birds escaped into the wild. They sometimes interbreed with Wood Ducks,
as the female Wood Duck is very similar to the female Mandarin (as shown in the images below).

Mandarin Duck X7933

Mandarin Duck X7939

A Mandarin traverses an especially colorful section of Franklin Canyon pond.
You can see why they used this as the scene for the 1981 film “On Golden Pond”.

Mandarin Male and Wood Duck Female X7893

A Mandarin male and a Wood Duck female. Note the female’s broad eye stripe and white bill border.
Mandarin and Wood Duck males can breed with the other species females (the opposite pairing is below).

Wood Duck Male and Mandarin Female 4420

As you know, all is fair in love and war... here is a Wood Duck male with a Mandarin female.
The female has a narrower eye stripe, a white stripe only at the side of the bill and a lighter bill.

The Wood Duck is one of the most colorful of the North American ducks. It is a medium-sized
perching duck in the same genus as the Mandarin Duck (Aix sponsa vs. Aix galericulata).
Like Mandarin Ducks, they breed in wooded swamps, shallow lakes, ponds or marshes
and build their nests in tree cavities. They are among the most prolific egg-layers of all
ducks due to a high infant mortality rate, and produce two broods in a single season.

Wood Duck Juvenile Breeding Male HS5873

Wood Duck Female HS5826

Above left, a juvenile is molting into breeding plumage. At right is a female Wood Duck.

Wood Duck Non-Breeding Male HS5911

A Non-Breeding Male Wood Duck. In non-breeding plumage, the head is a grayish-brown and lacks the
distinctive white stripes (compare with the juvenile breeding male above and adult breeding male below).

Wood Duck 4436

The male Wood Duck in breeding plumage displays a colorful panoply.
An iridescent green crested helmet with purple accents and white stripes is
atop a white collar and neck band. The speckled burgundy-to-chestnut breast
fades to a brown shoulder and back. The wings are buff with iridescent blue tips
over a burgundy rump and brownish tail feathers. It is an impressive display.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Muscovy Duck 6101

A male Muscovy Duck in Huntsville Alabama.

Muscovy Ducks are very large perching ducks, weighing 15 pounds or more.
They have long claws on their feet and a wide, flat tail. Feathers are dark brown
to black. Males have iridescent feathers on the back (the females are more drab).
Some birds have white patches and white bars on their wings. Muscovies have
pink or red wattles around the bill (male wattles are larger and more colorful).

Muscovy Duck 6166

Muscovy Duck 6169

Male Muscovy Ducks with their characteristic wattled facial skin. I am unable to resist taking frontal portraits.

Muscovy Duck 6170 M

An especially attractive Muscovy drake. Note the iridescent green feathers on the back.
Muscovies don’t quack, and are generally quiet. In Spanish they are pato muto (mute duck).

Muscovy Duck and Duckling 6137

A female Muscovy Duck with an attentive duckling.

Muscovy Duckling 6156

Muscovy ducklings are unbelievably cute little creatures.

Muscovy Duckling 6151 M

All ducklings are cute, but Muscovy ducklings seem exceptionally so, especially when compared with adults.

Muscovy Duckling 6132

Muscovy Duckling 6186

Muscovy ducklings wandering in the grass, checking out the flowers and other interesting sights.

Muscovy Duckling 6119 M

Did I forget to mention that Muscovy ducklings are terminally cute?

Northern Shovelers 6554

A mated pair of Northern Shovelers patrolling the marsh at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge.

The Northern Shoveler is a dabbling duck with an enormous spatulate bill. The male (drake) has
an iridescent dark green head in breeding plumage, with a white breast and chestnut belly and flanks.
The female is a mottled brown like other dabbling ducks, distinguishable by the large spatulate bill.
Male Shovelers in non-breeding (eclipse) plumage are similar in appearance to the females.

Northern Shoveler Molting 5497

Northern Shoveler Female 1939

On the left above, a young male is molting into its breeding plumage. On the right, a Northern Shoveler female.

Northern Shoveler X0557c M

A detail crop (reduced) of a Northern Shoveler at Bosque del Apache, examining some marsh grass
stuck to its bill. Note the partially close nictating membrane at the front of the eye, a translucent eyelid
which closes horizontally. The membrane protects the eye underwater and also remoistens the eye.

Northern Shoveler X0558

A Northern Shoveler drake crosses the Main Pond at Bosque del Apache near sunset in February.

Northern Shovelers feed on aquatic invertebrates, using the comb-like lamellae in their bills as sieves
to filter crustaceans and plankton from the water on the surface. They nest in grassy areas near water.

Northern Shovelers 1752

Northern Shovelers traversing a connecting canal at Bosque del Apache just after sunrise in December.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Pintail 8982

A Northern Pintail taken on an overcast day at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in British Columbia
shows the distinctive highly reflective bluish-black bill and the mottled plumage of the wings.

Pintails 2573

Pintails at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico.

Pintail X8319

A Northern Pintail in Southern California.

Another of my favorite ducks, the Pintail (or Northern Pintail) is a large dabbling duck with a
chocolate brown head, white neck stripes, and a long pointed central tail feather from which
the duck gets its name. They are strong travelers, and individuals can often cross the ocean.
Pintails are long and slender ducks, with long wings and a fast flight characteristic that has
given them the nickname “greyhound of the air”. They dabble and upend to feed on plants.

Pintail Display 2567-69

A Northern Pintail performing a display at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge.
Note the grey, brown and black patterning and the chocolate brown speculum
with light brown and white borders on the wing. The large shot at the bottom
of the 1122 x 1290 composite is shown in larger size below (1500 x 1290).

Pintail Display 2569 M

A Northern Pintail performing a display at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico.

Pintail 0734

A Northern Pintail traverses a sepia tinted canal at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge.

Pintail Female X3388

A female Northern Pintail at sunset on the Main Pond at Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge. The female
has a mottled brown plumage similar to other dabbling ducks and is distinguishable by its blue-black bill.

Pintail Female Sunset Close-Portrait 5160 M

A female Northern Pintail in the golden light at sunset, taken at Bosque del Apache in December.

Ring-Necked Ducks X7960

Ring-Necked Ducks X8040

On the left above, two Ring-Necked drakes patrol the duck pond at Franklin Canyon. The drake on the
right looks cross-eyed at its bill while shaking water from it. At right, a drake swims along with a female.
If you look carefully at the base of the neck of the drake in the right image, you can see the neck ring.

Ring-Necked Duck 8925

A Ring-Necked drake watches a hawk overhead. The Ring-Necked Duck has a similar plumage to the Eurasian
 Tufted Duck (shown further below), but it has a white border and a white stripe on its bill and lacks the Tufted crest.

The Ring-Necked Duck is named for a cinnamon neck ring which is often difficult to see, as it is only visible
when the neck is extended. The duck is also called the “ringbill” due to the white stripe on the front of the bill.
The Ring-Necked Duck is a diving duck, and it feeds by both dabbling on the surface and by diving. They are
omnivores, and eat insects, worms, snails, and aquatic plants. They also eat emergent plants like wild rice.

Ring-Necked Duck 8932

A Ring-Necked drake keeps a hovering hawk in sight while paddling in the pond at Descanso Gardens.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Ruddy Duck 6557 M

Ruddy Duck HS0277 M

Male Ruddy Ducks in breeding plumage at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge, taken in August (left) and April.
Ruddy Ducks are the only species that cocks its stiff tail up at an angle, as seen in the images above.

The Ruddy Duck is a diving duck and a member of the stiff-tailed ducks, which they often hold erect in a
display as are the birds in the images above. The breeding plumage is a deep cinnamon red, with white
cheeks, a black crown and neck, and a bright blue bill. The female is mottled gray, with a black crown.
The female and the juvenile have dark horizontal stripes on the cheek (the female stripe is darker).

Ruddy Duck Juvenile Stretching 6495

A young juvenile Ruddy Duck stretches its legs at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge. Note the brown crown and
the light stripe on the cheek in comparison to the late juvenile shown displaying in the two images below.

Ruddy Duck Juvenile Display X0459

Ruddy Duck Juvenile Display X0460

A late juvenile Ruddy Duck practices its mating display at the end of March at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge.
Note the darker head color and cheek stripe, and the corner at the base of the bill is beginning to turn blue.
This juvenile Ruddy Duck is molting into breeding plumage (you can see it beginning to molt on its back).

Ruddy Duck Juveniles Landing X0940

Younger juvenile Ruddy Ducks landing at Sepulveda Wildlife Refuge in early April.
Again, note the brown head color and the lighter cheek stripe of the young juvenile.

Ruddy Duck Display X0212

An adult male Ruddy Duck in breeding plumage performs a mating display. It runs across the surface of
the water, flapping its small wings madly. When Ruddy Ducks fly, their wings stroke so rapidly that they blur.
You have to use a very fast shutter speed to stop the wings (the image above is 1/640 sec. and is too slow).

Ruddy Duck Display X0217

A later image of the Ruddy Duck mating display, this one taken at 1/1500 second, nearly stopping the wings.
Ruddy Ducks really scoot across the surface of the water when they perform a mating display. A difficult shot.

Ruddy Ducks escaped from some European wildfowl collections, and in Great Britain their aggressive
courtship behavior and willingness to interbreed with the endangered native White-Headed Duck has
caused the Ruddy Duck to be labeled an invasive species, as the hybrids are fertile and eventually,
the pure characteristics of the White-Headed Duck would disappear. An extremely controversial
eradication program was begun in 2005, and hundreds of Ruddy Ducks were shot as a result.

Ueno Park Redhead 7465

The Redhead is a medium-sized diving duck, native to North America and the Caribbean.
This one probably escaped from a waterfowl collection, and was swimming in Shinobazu Pond
in Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan. This bird is typical of the male Redhead, with a blue bill, red head
and neck, a purplish-black breast and rump, but where most have yellow eyes, this one’s eyes
were quite red. I have seen other photos of Redheads in Ueno Park, also with red eyes, so it
may be a local mutation. Male Redheads have a gray back and flanks, as shown above.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks

Ueno Park Tufted Duck 7437 M

A Eurasian Tufted Duck in Shinobazu Pond, Ueno Park, Tokyo, Japan.

The Tufted Duck has a similar color pattern to that of the Ring-Necked Duck,
but it does not have the white border around the bill or the white bill stripe, it lacks
the cinnamon ring around the neck, and it has a prominent crest in breeding season.
The sides of the Tufted Duck are white, the sides are gray in the Ring-Necked Duck.

Sankeien Tufted Ducks 7926 M

Tufted Ducks in the pond at Sankeien Garden in Yokohama, Japan.

In the foreground is a non-breeding male, the others are males in breeding plumage. Tufted
Ducks are diving ducks, but they also dabble at the surface, eating mollusks, insects and plants.

Red-Crested Pochard HS2453

A Red-Crested Pochard drake offers his good side for a profile portrait. A difficult shot taken in deep shade near dusk.

Red-Crested Pochard Females X5763

A Red-Crested Pochard female in the foreground and an eclipse plumage (non-breeding) male in the background.

Red-Crested Pochard HS2385

A Red-Crested Pochard drake in profile, showing the characteristic red crest.

Red-Crested Pochards are diving ducks. The male has a rounded head with a red-orange crest,
a red bill and a black breast. The eclipse male (non-breeding plumage) looks like the female but has
a redder bill (see the image above right). The female (above right and below) is a light brown with
a mottled chest, a darker brown back, light cheeks, a pink-gray bill and a reddish brown crest.

Red-Crested Pochard Female X5767

A female Red-Crested Pochard with the characteristic somewhat dingy pinkish-gray bill, the brown
plumage with a darker brown back, pale cheeks and a reddish-brown crest. Note the deep red eyes.

Red-Crested Pochard HS2356

A front-quarter portrait of a Red-Crested Pochard male shows the exceptionally stylish crest from which they get their name.

White-Faced Whistling Duck X5772

The White-Faced Whistling Duck is a tree duck which has a distinctive three-note whistling call.

White-Faced Whistling Ducks X5951

A pair of White-Faced Whistling Ducks swimming. Male and female plumages are similar.

Widgeon 1046

Another interesting-looking duck is the American Widgeon. They are smaller than the Pintail,
but larger than Teals (top of this page). The male has a bluish bill with a black tip, a cream mask
on the head, face and cheeks, and an iridescent green patch from the eye to the back of the head.
They have reddish-brown breast, side and shoulder feathers, a dark brown rump and tail, and wing
feathers are outlined in white. The white shoulder patch is prominent when the wings are extended.

Widgeon 5687

The Widgeon is a dabbling duck and grazes on plants.

Sleepy Widgeon 5680

Widgeons prefer shallow freshwater wetlands and ponds.

These three shots show Widgeons molting from the Eclipse (non-breeding) plumage to Breeding plumage.
The male’s eye patch gradually turns green and becomes iridescent as the breeding season approaches.

Happy Widgeon 5677

Widgeons are quite noisy and gregarious birds. The Widgeon above was quacking continuously.
They often gather with diving ducks and coots, snatching plants which are brought up by the diving birds.

Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website.
The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collection where a Gallery can be selected.

Direct Links:

Assorted Ducks
Mallard & Muscovy
Mandarins & Wood Ducks
Pintails, Teals & Ruddy Ducks