Red-headed duck, Red-headed pochard
The redhead (Aythya americana) is a diving duck found in the Americas. It is closely related to the canvasback and belongs to the family which also includes ducks, swans, and geese. The scientific name of the redhead can be translated as "American seabird".
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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GranivoreSeed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of pla...
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AlgivoreAn algivore is a common name for many bottom-dwelling or algae-eating species that feed on algae.
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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CongregatoryCongregatory animals tend to gather in large numbers in specific areas as breeding colonies, for feeding, or for resting.
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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SeabirdSeabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, b...
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WaterfowlWaterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans. They ...
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SemiaquaticSemiaquatic animals are those that are primarily or partly terrestrial but that spend a large amount of time swimming or otherwise occupied in wate...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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Serial monogamySerial monogamy is a mating system in which a pair bonds only for one breeding season.
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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Highly socialHighly social animals are those which are highly interactive with other members of their species. They live in large groups, nest in colonies, and ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withRedheads are diving ducks specially adapted to foraging underwater. Their legs are placed farther back on the body, which makes walking on land difficult, the webbing on their feet is larger than dabbling ducks and their bills are broader, to facilitate underwater foraging. In addition, pochards have a lobed hind toe. No pochard has a metallic-colored speculum, something that is characteristic of other ducks. During breeding season, adult males have a copper head and neck, with a black breast. The back and sides are grey, the belly is white and the rump and tail are light black. Male bills are pale blue with a black tip and a thin ring separating the two colors. Non-breeding males lose the copper color and instead have brown heads. Adult females, however, have a yellow to brown head and neck. The breast is brown, the belly is white and the rest of the body is grey to brown. The female bills are slate with a dark tip that is separated by a blue ring. Females remain the same color year-round.
Redheads breed across a wide range of North America, from as far north as Northern Canada to the Caribbean. Their preferred areas include the intermontane regions of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Dakotas with some small localities in Ontario, Quebec, and the southern United States. Redheads migrate south to winter in warmer climates. These areas include the southern United States and extend to Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, and the Bahamas. In either season, redheads use wetlands in non-forested areas where the water is deep enough to provide dense emergent vegetation. During the winter, redheads switch to large areas of water near the coast but can also be found in reservoirs, lakes, playa wetlands, freshwater river deltas, coastal marshes, estuaries, and bays.
Redheads are social birds. They can sometimes be found singly or in pairs but usually spend time in flocks. During migration and on their breeding grounds, these birds can form very large flocks. Sometimes they can gather in thousands in good feeding areas. Redheads are most active in the morning and afternoon. They feed by diving to the bottom of the body of water or sometimes by dabbling in shallow water. During the breeding season, male redheads emit a cat-like 'wheee-oww' and less frequently a soft coughing call. Females emit a soft 'errrr' note when inciting a male.
Redheads are herbivores (graminivores, folivores, granivorrs, algivores) and carnivores (molluscivores, insectivores). They eat both plant and animal materials. During the breeding season, redheads will eat as much animal matter as possible, including slugs, snails, mollusks, aquatic insects, and insect larvae. They will also eat the occasional grass and other emergent vegetation. However, once they fly south, redheads will change their diet to mostly plant material, including green algae, pondweeds, wild rice, wild celery, wigeon grass, bulrushes, muskgrass, and shoal grass.
Redheads are serially monogamous; they don't pair for life but only for one breeding season. Pair formation starts in December or January through elaborate courtship rituals. Redheads flock together on lakes and other bodies of water and migrate in mated pairs. Unpaired redheads migrate together in a ‘courting party’ that can be up to 25 individuals, enabling them to find a mate within the group. The courtship process is quite long. Males begin to attract females through neck-kinking and head-throwing displays while emitting a cat-like call. If interested, the female produces inciting calls toward the male while performing alternate lateral and chin-lifting movements. The male then swims ahead of her and turns the back of his head towards the female. Once courtship is finished, the two birds are paired for the year. After mating, females begin forming nests. They are built with thick and strong plant material in emergent vegetation, over or near standing water. Redheads do not defend their territory or home range. Females can brood their own clutches or lay their eggs in other ducks' nests. Female redheads usually lay from 5 to 7 eggs which are incubated for 22-28 days. When the female starts incubation, her partner leaves for molting grounds where he joins other mails. Ducklings hatch covered in down with their eyes open and can leave the nests within a few days. Females take their young to open water, where they can obtain food. They abandon their broods around 8 weeks after hatching, 2-4 weeks before they are capable of flight.
Although not threatened at present, redheads still suffer from the loss of suitable nesting habitat, droughts, disturbance during the nesting and molting period, and collisions with power lines.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the redhead is 1,200,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers today are increasing.