Ruddy duck

Ruddy duck
File:Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) RWD2.jpg
Male
File:Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) RWD3.jpg
Female
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Oxyurinae
Genus:	Oxyura
Species:	O. jamaicensis
Binomial name
Oxyura jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1789)
Subspecies
O. j. jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1789) (North American ruddy duck) O. j. rubida (Wilson, 1814) (disputed) O. j. andina Lehmann, 1946 (Colombian ruddy duck) O. j. ferruginea (Eyton, 1838) (Andean ruddy duck)
File:Oxyura jamaicensis distribution.svg
Subspecies ranges      O. j. jamaicensis      O. j. ferruginea
Synonyms
Erismatura jamaicensis

The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is a duck from North America and the Andes Mountains of South America, one of the stiff-tailed ducks.

Description

These are small, compact ducks with stout, scoop-shaped bills, and long, stiff tails they often hold cocked upward. They have slightly peaked heads and fairly short, thick necks. Male Ruddy Ducks have blackish caps that contrast with bright white cheeks. In summer, they have rich chestnut bodies with bright blue bills. In winter, they are dull gray-brown above and paler below with dull gray bills. Females and first-year males are brownish, somewhat like winter males but with a blurry stripe across the pale cheek patch. In flight, Ruddy Ducks show solidly dark tops of the wings.

The southern subspecies ferruginea is occasionally considered a distinct species. It is separable by its all-black face and larger size. The subspecies andina has a varying amount of black coloration on its white face; it may in fact be nothing more than a hybrid population between the North American and the Andean ruddy duck. As the Colombian population is becoming scarce, it is necessary to clarify its taxonomic status, because it would be relevant for conservation purposes.

Standard Measurements
length	340–430 mm (13.5–17 in)
weight	560 g (1.23 lb)
wingspan	470 mm (18.5 in)
wing	133–147.5 mm (5.24–5.81 in)
tail	67–79 mm (2.6–3.1 in)
culmen	38.5–41 mm (1.52–1.61 in)
tarsus	33–38 mm (1.3–1.5 in)

Breeding and habits

Their breeding habitat is marshy lakes and ponds. They nest in dense marsh vegetation near water. The female builds the nest out of grass, locating it in tall vegetation to hide it from predators. A typical brood contains 5 to 15 ducklings. Pairs form each year.

They are migratory and winter in coastal bays and unfrozen lakes and ponds.

These birds dive and swim underwater. They mainly eat seeds and roots of aquatic plants, aquatic insects and crustaceans.

File:Oxyura jamaicensis FWS.jpg

Male on the left, female on the right

As a result of escapes from wildfowl collections in the late 1950s, they became established in Great Britain, from where they spread into Europe. This duck's aggressive courting behaviour and willingness to interbreed with the endangered native white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), of southern Europe, caused concern amongst Spanish conservationists. Due to this, a controversial scheme to extirpate the ruddy duck as a British breeding species started; there have also been culling attempts in other European countries. By early 2014, the cull had reduced the British population to about 20–100, down from a peak of about 5500 in 2000.

External links

• Ruddy Duck Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (in favor of the cull)
• Animal Aid (against the cull)
• Ruddy Duck Species Account at Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas
• Ruddy duck videos, photos, and sounds at the Internet Bird Collection
• Ruddy duck photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)

• http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/id
• http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=1798573A177BC580