Bird of the Month: Ring-necked Duck
Written by Andy McCormick
Andy McCormick, Volunteer and Former Board President of Eastside Audubon
The Ring-necked Duck is often unknown to new birders whose first look at the dramatically plumaged male brings a shot of awareness that is surprising that such a lovely duck could have not been known to them before this first observation.
WHY NOT RING-BILLED DUCK!
Both male and female Ring-necked Ducks have a white ring just behind their black-tipped bills. In addition, the male sports a second ring which outlines the base of the bill. Two field marks aid in identification even from long distances. The silhouette of the peaked head and the male’s white wedge on the side of the breast between the ink-black chest and gray flanks are both distinctive from a distance. In contrast to the black, gray, and white of the male, the female is brown overall. Photos, videos, and vocalizations of the Ring-necked Duck can be found at the Macaulay Library.
The Ring-necked Duck is placed in the genus Aythya, from the Greek aithuia, a kind of diving duck. Specifically, the Aythya ducks are diving bay ducks which gather in large rafts in southeastern U. S. coastal bays and large lakes in winter. The species epithet, collaris, from the Latin collare, a neck band, describes the faint brownish ring on the neck of the male in breeding plumage (Holloway). This band is rarely visible in the field. This duck was likely named for this band while it was visible to the observer while the bird was in the hand.
Ring-necked duck
Scientific Name: Aythya collaris
Length: 17”
Wingspan: 25”
Weight: 1.5 lb (700 g)
AOU Alpha Code: RNDU
BOGGY POND NESTER
The Ring-necked is a strong flyer and can jump-start directly up out of the water and does not need a running start as many waterfowl require. This ability suits its preference for nesting on small, shallow, tree-lined ponds. In spring Ring-necks will be on the move by mid-February into March with peak numbers arriving on the breeding grounds by early April provided ponds are free of ice. The nest is usually constructed on a dry hummock or even on a mat of floating vegetation in a boggy pond.
Eight to ten eggs are deposited and incubated by the female for about four weeks. Within about 12 hours of hatching, the female leads the young to water, where they find their own food. Unusual for pond ducks, Ring-necks prefer to hide in vegetation at night rather than stay on open water (Kaufman). In another seven weeks, the young can take flight.
STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION
Ring-necked Ducks breed in southern Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland and in the Northern and Eastern United States from Minnesota to Maine. In Washington, they breed in the northeastern portion of the state, and they are an uncommon breeder along the eastern shore of Puget Sound.
Ring-necks are migratory and winter in the southern United States and Mexico, and in the Bahamas, Cuba, and other islands in the Greater Antilles. Most Ring-necks migrate along the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways. Along the Pacific flyway, Ring-necks begin migrating in September and arrive in Washington waters by late October. Some migrate as far south as the Central Valley of California (Roy et al).
Surveys beginning in 1955 estimate a stable or increasing population through 1996 with the global population topping out at one million Ring-necks in the 2000s. However, some local trends suggest that estimates are imprecise, and the loss of some local habitats may be forcing greater concentration of these ducks into larger wintering flocks (Roy et al).
A NOTE ON HYBRIDIZATION
Hybridization is frequent among ducks, and it is known that waterfowl interbreed more often than any other family of birds. Researchers have catalogued more than 400 hybrid combinations identified among waterfowl (Kross). Aythya ducks, including the Ring-necked Duck, regularly hybridize with other species in their genus. Birders are cautioned that hybrids can resemble other members of the Aythya genus and can be mistaken for North American rare birds such as Tufted Duck and Common Pochard (Alderfer). The Ring-necked Duck entry in Birds of the World includes eBird records with photos of hybrids between Ring-necked Ducks and Canvasback, Redhead, Tufted Duck, and Great and Lesser Scaup. Most of the hybrids show a ring on the bill similar to that on the Ring-necked Duck.
Photo credit Mick Thompson. References available upon request from amccormick@eastsideaudubon.org.
Visit the Eastside Audubon Bird Gallery to read Bird of the Month articles on other Aythya ducks and over 200 bird species.