Wood Duck

The Wood Duck is among the most ornately patterned waterfowl in the world. The breeding drake combines an iridescent green-and-purple crested head streaked with fine white lines, a bright red eye and bill base, a rich chestnut breast speckled with white, and buffy-gold flanks, all outlined with crisp black-and-white pinstripes.

Females are more subdued grayish-brown but are readily identified by a distinctive white teardrop-shaped eye-ring and a spiky crest. Both sexes are relatively small, compact ducks perfectly adapted to life in wooded wetlands, with sharp claws that allow them to perch and even nest in tree cavities.

Key Field Marks

• Breeding drake: iridescent green-and-purple crested head with white pinstripes, red eye, chestnut breast with white speckling, boxy head shape
• Female: gray-brown overall with a bold white teardrop eye-ring and a small crest
• Both sexes: squared-off head shape and relatively long, broad tail

Similar Species

The male Wood Duck's combination of iridescent crest, red eye, and ornate patterning is unmistakable and shared by no other North American duck (aside from the introduced/escaped Mandarin Duck, its closest relative). Female Wood Ducks can be told from other female dabblers by the distinctive white teardrop eye-ring and crested head shape.

Wood Ducks are closely tied to wooded wetlands: forested swamps, beaver ponds, slow rivers, and lake edges with mature trees nearby, since they nest in natural tree cavities or nest boxes rather than on the ground. They are found across much of the eastern United States and southern Canada year-round to migratory, plus a separate population along the Pacific coast.

Northern populations migrate south for winter, while many populations in the milder eastern and southern U.S. are resident. The widespread installation of artificial nest boxes has significantly helped Wood Duck populations recover from historic lows caused by hunting and habitat loss in the early 20th century.

Wood Ducks forage by dabbling in shallow water and foraging on land, eating acorns, seeds, aquatic plants, and insects, and are notably capable of perching and walking on tree branches thanks to sharp claws. Newly hatched ducklings famously leap from high tree cavity nest entrances to the ground or water below within a day of hatching, an astonishing feat given the heights sometimes involved.

The male's call is a thin, rising whistle, while the female gives a loud, distinctive rising "oo-eek" squeal, often given in alarm when flushed, that is one of the most recognizable duck calls in wooded wetlands. Pairs form in fall and winter, and the female alone incubates a clutch of 9-14 eggs in a tree cavity or nest box, sometimes 20 feet or more above the ground or water.