Ruddy duck
Ruddy duck | |
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Male | |
Female | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Genus: | Oxyura |
Species: | O. jamaicensis
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Binomial name | |
Oxyura jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1789)
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Range of Oxyura jamaicensis. | |
Synonyms | |
Erismatura jamaicensis |
The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is a duck from North America and one of the stiff-tailed ducks. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek oxus, "sharp", and oura, "tail", and jamaicensis is "from Jamaica".
Taxonomy
The ruddy duck was
Description
These are small, compact ducks with stout, scoop-shaped bills, and long, stiff tails they often hold cocked upward. They have slightly peaked heads and fairly short, thick necks. Male ruddy ducks have blackish caps that contrast with bright white cheeks. In summer, they have rich chestnut bodies with bright blue bills. In winter, they are dull gray-brown above and paler below with dull gray bills. Females and first-year males are brownish, somewhat like winter males but with a blurry stripe across the pale cheek patch. In flight, ruddy ducks show solidly dark tops of the wings.[7]
Standard Measurements[8][9] | |
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Total Body Length | 340–430 mm (13.5–17 in) |
Weight | 560 g (1.23 lb) |
Wingspan | 470 mm (18.5 in) |
Wing | 133–147.5 mm (5.24–5.81 in) |
Tail | 67–79 mm (2.6–3.1 in) |
Culmen | 38.5–41 mm (1.52–1.61 in) |
Tarsus | 33–38 mm (1.3–1.5 in) |
Breeding and habits
Their breeding habitat is marshy lakes and ponds. They nest in dense marsh vegetation near water. The female builds the nest out of grass, locating it in tall vegetation to hide it from predators. A typical brood contains 5 to 15 ducklings.[10] Pairs form each year.
They are migratory and winter in coastal bays and unfrozen lakes and ponds.
These birds dive and swim underwater. They mainly eat seeds and roots of aquatic plants, aquatic insects and crustaceans.
Invasive species/Cull
Ruddy ducks were imported into the UK in 1948 by conservationist Sir
By March 2012 a culling program in the UK, supported by the
In Europe, the Ruddy duck is included since 2016 in the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (the Union list).[16] This implies that this species cannot be imported, bred, transported, commercialized, or intentionally released into the environment in the whole of the European Union.[17]
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1789). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 2 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 519.
- ^ Latham, John (1785). A General Synopsis of Birds. Vol. 3, Part 2. London: Printed for Leigh and Sotheby. p. 513, No. 58.
- .
- ^ Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Ruddy Duck Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- ^ Godfrey, W. Earl (1966). The Birds of Canada. Ottawa: National Museum of Canada. p. 81.
- ISBN 0-679-45122-6.
- ^ "Ruddy Duck Fact Sheet". Lincoln Park Zoo.
- ^ Ruddy Ducks and White-Headed Ducks - The RSPB
- ^ a b "R.I.P. Ruddy duck". 3 March 2003.
- ^ a b Vidal, John (8 March 2012). "Final 100 ruddy ducks in the UK facing extermination". The Guardian.
- ^ "The ruddy ducks with nowhere left to hide - Telegraph". Archived from the original on 2014-03-31.
- ^ "Ruddy Ducks".
- ^ "List of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern - Environment - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
- ^ "REGULATION (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European parliament and of the council of 22 October 2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species".
External links
- Media related to Oxyura jamaicensis at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Oxyura jamaicensis at Wikispecies
- Ruddy Duck Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (in favor of the cull)
- Animal Aid (against the cull)
- Ruddy Duck Species Account at Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas
- "Ruddy duck media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Ruddy duck photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)