The Ruddy Duck is a member of the stiff-tailed duck group. It is shaped differently from most other ducks with a small compact body, a long stiff tail which it often holds upright and a spade-shaped bill. It is a diving duck and feeds by diving for long periods. It is reluctant to take off from water, preferring to dive for protection.
The Ruddy Duck is 38 cm (15 inches) long. The male is a rufous brown colour with a characteristic white cheek patch. His bill is large and sky blue in colour. His head appears large and he can raise a double crest which is not often seen. In his non-breeding plumage he becomes duller with the rufous brown turning to a dull gray. He retains his cheek patch and blue bill. The female is a dull gray brown year round. She has the same shape as the male but has a dark brown cap and back and lighter buff face, neck, breast and sides. She has a characteristic brown line on her cheek through her eye which is used to differentiate her from other similar species (female Bufflehead, and the Masked Duck of southern Texas). Juveniles are similar to females. The Ruddy Duck is generally silent but the female can make a nasal 'rrh' sound or a high squeak. The only times the males vocalize are during courtship when they make a long series of popping sounds.
The Ruddy Duck is mostly a waterfowl species of western North America. It is a permanent resident of the western US, Mexico and the Caribbean Islands. It breeds in the US mid-west and our prairie provinces northward to Yukon and Northwest Territories. Besides its permanent resident areas it winters in the southern US from Texas eastward to Florida and northward into the Carolinas.
In 1948 Dr. Peter Scott imported a few of this species into his wildfowl collection in Great Britain. From there they became an invasive species throughout Europe. By the year 2000 the population had increased to about 6,000. They were aggressive against a close species which is native there, the White-headed Duck and began hybridizing with them. Because the White-headed Duck population became threatened the conservationists began an extirpation program. This was led by Spain and was expanded to other European countries. By the year 2014 the cull had reduced the British population down to less than 100.
Ruddy Ducks prefer freshwater marshes, marshy lakes and ponds. In winter they inhabit marshes and shallow coastal bays. They build their nests in thick vegetation in reeds or bulrushes. The nest is floating and well concealed. Five to seventeen creamy white eggs are laid and incubated for 23 to 26 days by the female. They feed on seeds, pond weeds like wild celery, algae, aquatic insects, shellfish and crustaceans. We don't often get to see their nest or ducklings!
The Ruddy Duck's scientific name, Oxyura jamaicensis, is descriptive. It is derived from the Greek word, 'oxus' meaning 'sharp' and 'oura' meaning 'tail'. The specific name is obviously from Jamaica.
A little known fact about this species which few in our province have seen is that there is a dark-headed variant. The male Ruddy Duck can rarely be found with no white cheek patch and an all black head. If that occurred here it would really be an interesting test for identification.
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