Ruddy Duck

Uploaded on May 13, 2010

Photographed at Kellys Slough NWR, North Dakota (13 May 2010).

Published on Sep 21, 2015

These feisty little ducks can be fun to watch. They have some unique courting behavior, and can dive to the bottom of their pond.

Published on Nov 12, 2012

For a male Ruddy Duck, the ability to impress one or more females determines the number of offspring he can sire. To do this, his overall size is less important than the size of his large feet and long tail. Males also go to great lengths to show off their vivid, sky blue bill, and they have the odd behavior of beating their breast and creating bubbles. In this video we propose that the color of a male's bill complements the color of the sky for a reason.

Uploaded on Mar 26, 2010

Learn about these small and colorful diving ducks in this video.

Published on Jan 27, 2016

A male Ruddy Duck in nonbreeding plumage dives for food and comes back up again. Ruddy Ducks forage mostly by diving to the bottom of shallow ponds, straining mouthfuls of mud through thin plates on their bills and swallowing the prey items that are left behind. They eat aquatic insects, crustaceans, zooplankton, and other invertebrates, along with small amounts of aquatic plants and seeds. At the end of the film, a Gadwall swims by. Video recorded by Jay McGowan in New York/Macaulay Library/http://macaulaylibrary.org/video/475156. For more bird videos and sounds, explore the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, http://macaulaylibrary.org. For additional identification and life history information visit: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/id