Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck

Ring-necked Duck Male

The Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) is first seen in this area in spring as a migrant.  New Brunswick is part of this species' breeding range so they are summer residents.  The Ring-necked Duck is a summer resident in most of southern Canada northward to Labrador, southern Yukon and Northwest Territories and Alaska.  The range extends southward to about the Canada/US border.  They winter along the British Columbia coast and in the southern US, Mexico, and the West Indies.

The preferred habitat of this species is marshy ponds, lakes and rivers.  They are seldom seen on salt water.  Here it is common to see this species in small flocks along the St. John River in spring.  I saw my first last week (end of March).  I have also seen wintering birds in larger flocks (about 50-60) on wooded ponds in South Carolina.  These birds were usually  in a tight group sleeping.  Here in New Brunswick they are often associated with scaup and goldeneyes.

Ring-necked Duck Male

The male Ring-necked Duck is striking in appearance.  His distinguishing feature is the white slash separating the breast from the flank in front of the folded wing.  His head is angular-shaped, peaking near the rear and is a dark purple colour.  He has a remarkable beak; basically gray with a black tip and white ring just inside the black tip as well another white ring at the base.  The male's flanks are gray and the back is black.  His eye is deep yellow.  The female is more subdued in plumage as you would expect.  She is mainly brown with a gray face.  She has a white eyering and a darker crown which is also angular shaped.  She also has a white ring around the bill.  This species has a rapid wingbeat and shows a gray trailing stripe on the secondaries.

Ring-necked Duck Male and Female Group

Ring-necked Ducks build their nest on the ground in vegetation near the edge of a pond.  In the down-filled nest the female lays 6 to 14 olive, gray, or greenish eggs.  The female incubates the eggs for 25 to 29 days.  Ring-necks feed by shallow diving or tipping and dabbling.  Their diet includes aquatic plants, seeds, insects, molluscs, worms and crustaceans.  Although they are often described as silent ducks they do make a faint, wheezy whistling sound.

Although the white slash on the side of the male and the white ring on the bill of both genders make them fairly easy to identify, there are some species you have to differentiate them from.  The Greater and Lesser Scaup are similar but they do not have the white ring on the bill and their backs are gray.  The Tufted Duck is rare here but it is similar, also with a black back but it does not have the white slash on the side in the male.  It also has a tuft in the back of the crown of its head.  The white ring on the bill, the angular head shape, and the gray face distinguish the female Ring-billed from other similar female ducks.

So what about the name of this duck, Ring-necked Duck?  We don't normally see a ring on its neck.  Shouldn't it be called the Ring-billed Duck?  This species (along with most species) was named long ago with a specimen in hand.  The males actually do have a ring on their necks, a narrow faint chestnut-coloured collar were the neck joins the body.  I have never seen this ring in a very many years of birding!  Unfortunately it is not visible in the two photos above of the males.  So there you have it, a Ring-necked Duck with no visible ring on its neck but a ring on its bill!

The Ring-necked Duck wanders very rarely to the United Kingdom.  There are two official records (1801, 1955) and perhaps others since.  The species was first described in 1809 by Edward Donovan, an Anglo-Irish writer and amateur naturalist.

Birding for waterfowl in the spring is an exciting and rewarding endeavour.  Ducks are very beautiful and quite easy to see in this area since we have many places where you can get close to water.  Now is a good time to get out and see what you can find.