Ring-necked Duck Photo Gallery
Breeding male
Medium-sized diving duck with a peaked head. Breeding male has glossy black head, front, rear, and back, with gray sides and white wedge at the shoulder. Gray bill has a black tip bordered by a white band.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 03, 2020Female
Medium-sized brownish duck with a tall, peaked head. Brown top of head contrasts with gray face, white eyering, and white strip behind bill. Gray bill has white band and a black tip.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, February 18, 2019Breeding male and female
Paddles across waterbodies like dabbling ducks, but dives to the bottom to eat submerged plants and aquatic invertebrates unlike dabbling ducks. Note the peaked head, white ring around the bill, and white "spur" on its side.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, March 10, 2015Not all videos have soundBreeding male and female
In flight, wings are dark with grayish, not white, wingstripe.
© Kathryn Keith / Macaulay LibraryIdaho, March 26, 2017Breeding male and female
Pairs tend to form in spring and stay together at least until incubation begins
© Darlene Friedman / Macaulay LibraryMichigan, March 28, 2017Nonbreeding male
Medium-sized diving duck with a tall, peaked head and a white ring near the tip of the bill. Glossy ring around neck is very difficult to see. Nonbreeding males have gray-brown sides.
© Mark R Johnson / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, September 02, 2016Breeding male
Fairly common on lakes and ponds, especially small bodies of water. Less common in saltwater.
© Suzanne Labbé / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 22, 2017Breeding male
In flight, male's black back and grayish wingstripe help differentiate it from male scaup.
© Naseem Reza / Macaulay LibraryVirginia, March 24, 2018Breeding male
The breeding male's namesake chestnut collar, visible here, is usually difficult to see.
© Jack McDonald / Macaulay LibraryMaine, April 09, 2017Female and chick
Breeds in freshwater marshes, often in shallow waters where patches of open water are fringed with vegetation.
© James Nelson / Macaulay LibraryColorado, July 12, 2013Breeding male and female
Forms flocks, especially in winter and migration. Both sexes have distinctive gray bill with white band and black tip.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 19, 2013Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family: Anatidae)
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