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Field
Guide IDs: BREEDING:
Often upland areas
near pond or small lake, marsh, prairie potholes. 1
brood. DISPLAYS:
See:
Duck
Displays. NEST:
In fairly open, dry
habitat within 150' of water, nest concealed by
veg, rarely over water. Lined with grass, down;
uses less down in nest than do other ducks. Built
as eggs are laid. EGGS:
Olive/olive-buff.
2.3" (57 mm). DIET:
Aquatic
invertebrates, esp amphipods; aquatic
veg. CONSERVATION:
Winters s
throughout C.A. and West Indies to n
S.A. NOTES:
Male deserts when
incubation begins, occ remains until middle of
incubation. Young led to water; if disturbed, dive
and disperse. Young form crèches, several
broods often combined and tended by 1-3 females.
Nests holding >14 eggs are due to >1 female
laying in nest. Clutch size increases with age of
female; nest success of females >2 years old is
greater than that of 1- and 2-year-old females. Occ
feeds at night. Large winter flocks, occ with
Greater Scaup. Uncommon winter
visitor in more open, deeper water at
Lagunita. ESSAYS: Eye
Color;
Bird
Communities and Competition;
Metallic
Poisons;
Dabblers
vs. Divers;
Crèches;
Parasitized
Ducks;
Variation
in Clutch Sizes. REFERENCES:
Afton, 1984;
Bellrose, 1976; Gooders and Boyer, 1986. |
