Redhead

Aythya americana

The Redhead is a beautiful duck with a striking reddish-brown head. They love to swim in lakes and ponds, diving underwater to find tasty plants and small fish.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Redhead is a medium-sized diving duck with a distinctive rounded head. Males boast a striking cinnamon-red head and neck, a black chest, and a gray body, with a blue-gray bill featuring a white ring. Females are duller, mostly brown with a dark crown.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumChordataClassAvesOrderAnseriformesFamilyAnatidaeGenusAythya

Redhead

Interesting facts

Baby Redheads, called ducklings, can swim and find food on their own right after hatching!

During courtship, male Redheads perform elaborate head-tossing displays to impress females.

Redheads can migrate thousands of kilometers, flying vast distances without stopping!

Their eyes are bright golden-yellow, a stunning contrast to their head feathers!

Special abilities

Redhead can dive deep underwater for food because its dense bones and powerful legs help it propel through the water.

Redhead has the unique ability to lay eggs in other duck's nests, which helps them expand their brood without extra effort.

Redhead can gather in huge flocks, sometimes thousands strong, because it's a very social duck that helps them find safety and food.

Measurements & details

Length: 42-56 cm
Wingspan: 76-89 cm
Weight: 0.7-1.3 kg
Lifespan: 12-22 years
Top Speed: 80 km/h
Clutch Size: 7-14
Incubation: 24-28 days
Migration Distance: 3000 km

Diet & Feeding

This duck loves to eat underwater plants and sometimes small aquatic bugs and snails!

Primary Foods

Pondweeds
Wild celery
Duckweed
Aquatic insects
Snails
Small fish

Foraging Method

Foraging

Ecological connections

eaten by

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Large raptors like eagles often prey on ducks, especially during migration.

eaten by

Coyote

Canis latrans

Coyotes are opportunistic predators, targeting nests and sometimes adult ducks.

eats

Wild Celery

Vallisneria americana

A primary food source, especially vital on their wintering grounds.

parasitizes

Mallard

Anas platyrhynchos

Redheads frequently lay their eggs in Mallard nests.

parasitizes

Canvasback

Aythya valisineria

Redheads also parasitize their close relative, the Canvasback, laying eggs in their nests.

Traits

Feathered

Feathered describes animals, primarily birds, possessing a covering of feathers.

Webbed Feet

Characterized by having toes connected by a membrane, typically aiding in swimming.

Social

Social animals live in organized groups, cooperating for survival benefits such as foraging, defense, and raising offspring.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Filter Feeder

Filter feeders obtain nutrients by straining suspended food particles and small organisms from water.

Piscivorous

Piscivorous organisms are animals that primarily subsist on a diet of fish.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.