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Project Noah Nature School
Oxyura jamaicensis
"Adult males have a rust-red body, a blue bill, and a white face with a black cap. Adult females have a grey-brown body with a greyish face with a darker bill, cap and a cheek stripe. The southern subspecies ferruginea is occasionally considered a distinct species. It is separable by its all-black face and larger size. The subspecies andina has a varying amount of black coloration on its white face; it may in fact be nothing more than a hybrid population between the North American and the Andean Ruddy Duck."
Their breeding habitat is marshy lakes and ponds throughout much of North America, and in South America in the Andes. They nest in dense marsh vegetation near water.
Spotted at the Pairi Daïza park.
Thank you for the suggestion, I've changed the info. Nice to know more about this duck.
That looks like a ruddy duck. In the Americas (where I'm from) they aren't rare, but they are not seen too often. In Europe they are invasive and in some cases authorities are trying to eradicate them.
Spotted on Jul 30, 2011
Submitted on Aug 12, 2011
