Ringneck
The Ring-necked Duck is a smaller diving duck from North America. The
adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian Tufted Duck,
its relative. It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple
head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back. The adult
female has a pale brown head and body with a dark brown back, a dark
bill with a more subtle light band than the male and brown eyes. The
cinnamon neck ring is usually difficult to observe. Their breeding
habitat is wooded lakes or ponds in the northern United States and
Canada. They overwinter in southern North America, usually in lakes,
ponds, rivers or bays. This strong migrant is a rare but regular
vagrant to western Europe. Vagrant individuals also occur each year in
Central America as far south as Costa Rica between October/November and
May/June[1].
These birds feed mainly by diving. They eat aquatic plants as well as
some molluscs, aquatic insects and small fish. The nest is
bowl-shaped, built with aquatic vegetation and lined
with down, in a dry location near open water. The female lays 8 to 10
eggs and may remain with the young until they are able to fly. They are a small North American diving duck. The name is confusing, as
the ring on the base of the neck is only visible while in hand. The more
often used name is the Ringbill, because of the white ring on the bill of both
sexes.
