Wood ducks on a pond.

Wood Duck

Look up Wood Duck pictures online and you’ll quickly discover why some call it one of the most stunningly pretty of all waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather. The female Wood Duck has a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye.

A female Wood Duck call sounds like a loud “oo-eek, oo-eek” when disturbed and taking flight. A male Wood Duck sounds like a thin, rising and falling zeeting whistle. Wood Ducks thrive in bottomland forests, swamps, freshwater marshes and beaver ponds. They eat seeds, fruits, insects and other arthropods. When its time to breed, the female lays between 6-16 eggs at a time. After an incubation period of 28-37 days, the baby Wood Duck is born. Chicks hatch alert and with a full coat of down. A day after hatching they leave the nest by jumping out of the entrance. The scientific name for the Wood Duck is Aix Sponsa.

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