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Wood duck (pair)

Aix sponsa

Photo by Aaron_G
Published on Project Noah
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32.7254, -97.3208

Field Notes

Description:

The Wood Duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typical adult is from 47 to 54 cm (19 to 21 in) in length with a wingspan of between 66 to 73 cm (26 to 29 in). This is about three-quarters of the length of an adult Mallard. It shares its genus with the Asian Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata).

The adult male has distinctive multicolored iridescent plumage and red eyes,with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads.

The male's call is a rising whistle, "jeeeeee"; the females utter a drawn-out, rising squeal, "oo-eek," when flushed, and a sharp "cr-r-ek, cr-e-ek" for an alarm call. (information from Wikipedia)

Notes:

The male is featured in the first photo and the female is in the second photo.

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Photographed
PublishedJanuary 7, 2012

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