Aythya collaris
The Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) is a striking medium-sized diving duck, a cherished sight for North American birders, often recognized by its distinctive head shape and bill pattern rather than its namesake collar. Males are dapper in appearance, sporting a glossy black head, back, and breast, contrasting sharply with grey flanks and a bright white vertical slash near the breast. Their most defining feature is a greyish-blue bill encircled by two prominent white bands—one at the base a...
This species primarily inhabits shallow freshwater wetlands, including marshes, bogs, forested swamps, and small lakes with emergent and submerged vegetation. It thrives in low to moderate elevations, typically avoiding fast-flowing rivers or deep, open coastal waters.
Ring-necked Ducks are omnivorous diving ducks, primarily consuming seeds and vegetative parts of aquatic plants, especially pondweeds and water lilies. They also heavily forage on aquatic invertebrates, such as insect larvae, mollusks, and crustaceans, particularly during the breeding season.
Ring-necked Ducks are active during the day, spending much of their time foraging, resting, and preening, often in mixed-species flocks outside the breeding season. They are expert divers, propelling themselves underwater using their large feet to snatch food from the bottom, typically remaining ...
The Ring-necked Duck boasts a broad North American distribution. Its breeding range stretches across the boreal forest and prairie pothole regions of Alaska, much of Canada, and the northern tier of the United States, extending south through the Great Lakes states and into parts of the Pacific No...
Least Concern
- Despite its common name, the 'ring' around the male's neck is a chestnut-colored band that is rarely visible in the field, making it a frustrating misnomer for identification. The white bill rings are much more reliable field marks. - They are remarkable divers, capable of submerging for up to ...