Ring-necked Ducks

I've mentioned before that one of the difficulties of identifying birds is that members of the same species don't always look the same. Here's another example I saw out at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary earlier this week. Both the ducks pictured above are Ring-necked Ducks. The one on the left is a mature male in breeding plumage. The one on the right is a juvenile.

Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)

With the return of warmer weather I am visiting some favorite spots for birding and seeing some birds I don't normally see along the West Bay Walkway. Above is one such, a Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), seen swimming at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary on Saturday. I like this photo because the coppery ring around the neck that gives this bird its name is very visible here and it is often hard to see.

Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)

I suspect you all thought when seeing the above duck, "Aha, he's showing us another picture of the Lesser Scaup!" That's what I thought too when I first noticed him swimming around in Swan Lake. Then I noticed the white band across his bill and realized that I was seeing something different. This is a male Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), another member of the diving duck family. The cinnamon coloured neck ring is seldom very visible and the duck is sometimes called the Ring-billed Duck. Below is the more discreetly coloured female. I've just realized that one reason that the females of these duck species tend to be rather drab browns is that they blend in so well with the reeds and grasses that line their natural habitats like Swan Lake. I suspect this camoflage serves them well during the long periods they must spend on their nests when incubating their young.Below, the head-on view of the male shows the neck ring more clearly as well as his oddly shaped head.