Ducks- ORDER: Anseriformes
- FAMILY: Anatidae
Basic Description
With a gleaming cinnamon head setting off a body marked in black and business gray, adult male Redheads light up the open water of lakes and coastlines. These sociable ducks molt, migrate, and winter in sometimes-huge flocks, particularly along the Gulf Coast, where winter numbers can reach the thousands. Summers find them nesting in reedy ponds of the Great Plains and West. Female and young Redheads are uniform brown, with the same black-tipped, blue-gray bill as the male.
More ID InfoFind This Bird
In summer, your best bet for finding Redheads is to head to the pond-studded “prairie pothole” grasslands of the Great Plains. Much of the rest of the U.S. gets their chance to find them during migration and winter. Migrating Redheads stop over on medium to large reservoirs and lakes. In winter look for them often in shallow waters of the Gulf Coast as well as in the Great Lakes.
Other Names
- Porrón Americano (Spanish)
- Fuligule à tête rouge (French)