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Redhead

Aythya americanaOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)
Redhead Head Illustration_2

Head

  • Bill Shape: Spatulate
  • Eye color: Orange iris
  • Head Pattern: Plain
  • Crown color: Red
  • Forehead color: Rufous or Rust
  • Nape Color: Red-brown
  • Throat color: Rufous or Rust
  • Cere color:
Splitbar
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Redhead Body Illustration_2

Body

  • Length Range: 45-55 cm (18-22 in)
  • Weight: 1178 g (41.6 oz)
  • Size: Size 3. Medium (9 - 16 in)
  • Color: Brown, Black, Gray, Rufous or Rust
  • Underparts: White
  • Upperparts: Gray
  • Back Pattern: Barred or banded
  • Belly Pattern: Solid
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Redhead Flight Illustration_2

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Flies in V formation in migration., Rapid direct flight with fast wing beats.
  • Wingspan Range: 73-88 cm (29-35 in)
  • Wing Shape: Tapered-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Pointed Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Solid
  • Upper Tail: Black
  • Under Tail: Black
  • Leg color: Gray
.

Copyright © 2005 WBFI Research Foundation Bird database and its related content and media is Copyright (C) 2002 - 2005 Mitch Waite Group All rights reserved.

Family Diving Ducks (Anatidae)_blue
Species Aythya americana
Length18 - 22 Inches
Wingspan32 Inches

Redhead

Redhead: Medium diving duck, gray back and sides, black upper back, breast, rump, and tail, and white belly. Head and neck are rufous-brown, and blue-gray bill is black-tipped; eyes are yellow. Feeds mostly on aquatic vegetation. Rapid direct flight with strong wing beats, flies in V formation.

● Song: "whee-uogh", "keyair", "rrrrr"

● Foraging & Feeding: Redhead: Feeds on seeds, rhizomes, and tubers of pondweeds, wild celery, water lilies, grass, and wild rice; also eats mollusks, aquatic insects, and small fish; forages by diving from the water surface.

● Breeding & nesting: Redhead: Nine to fourteen pale olive, buff, or dull white eggs are laid in a shallow cup of plant material lined with down, built in tall vegetation near water. Incubation ranges from 23 to 29 days and is carried out by the female. Sometimes lays eggs in nests of other waterbirds.

● Similar species: Redhead: Canvasback is larger and has dark bill.

Flight Pattern

Flies in V formation in migration., Rapid direct flight with fast wing beats.
Redhead Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Redhead: Breeds in the northern prairies of the U.S. and Canada and intermountain marshes of the west. Spends winters mostly in Texas and Mexico. Nests in marshes, open lakes, and bays; often winters on saltwater.
BreedingMonogamous, Brood parasite
Population
MigrationMigratory
Weight41.6 Ounces