Download Wood Duck Aix sponsa - The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore

Fact Sheet: Wood Duck
Aix sponsa
Description:
• Size:
o Length: 1 ft 8in (50.8 cm)
o Wingspan : 2 ft 3in (70-73 cm)
• Weight: 1.5 lbs (0.68 kg)
• Sexually dimorphic:
o Males slightly larger, brightly colored during breeding plumage. Retain some
color even outside of breeding season.. Dark bill with red at the base
o Females slightly smaller with dull gray, black and brown plumage and an all black
bill.
• Physical Description: Wood ducks are a small to medium sized duck with a crested head,
and square shaped tail. They have webbed feet with claws.
• Coloration:
o Males: Red eyes and base of bill, with the base of the bill turning from red to
yellow. Face framed in black with white stripes along the cheek line. The head
crest is a metallic green with purple. The chest can vary from a red to chestnut to
dark brown. The sides are drab yellow with a white underside. The back and tail
are black, while the wings are black and blue. In late summer, males lose their
pale sides and bold stripes, but retain their bright eye and bill.
o Females: Black eyes and bill, light ring around the eye, with a slight teardrop
shaped eye line from the eye towards the back of the head. Overall coloration of
mottled gray, black and brown.
o Juvenile: Resemble adult females.
In the Wild
Habitat and Range:
• Geographic range: Wood ducks can be found year round in most wooded wetland
habitats east of the Mississippi in the continental US, as well as most of the west coast.
They can be found further north in summer and further south in winter.
• Preferred Habitat: Wooded wetlands and riparian zones. Tree cavity nester. Need
nesting habitat within 2 km of water.
Diet:
• Omnivorous: Nuts, seeds, fruit, aquatic plants, insects, and other invertebrates.
o Specific plant diet choices include acorns, Hickory nuts, maple seeds, and
submerged aquatic vegetation.
o Feed on a variety of invertebrates including flies, butterflies, moths, true bugs,
beetles, isopods, caddisflies, wasps, bees, ants, dragonflies, slugs, and snails.
Adaptations:
• Broad tail and shorter, broader wings make them more maneuverable, allowing for easy
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Wood Duck
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
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flight through dense woodlands.
Their feet have claws to assist with perching and nesting in trees.
Lifespan:
• Averages 3-4 years in the wild.
Can live up to a maximum of 15 years in captivity.
Ecosystem relationships:
• Predators include birds of prey, mammalian predators such as foxes and raccoons, and
reptiles such as snakes and alligators.
• Most predation occurs on hatchlings. Only 10-14% of hatchlings survive to adulthood.
• Popular game animals for humans.
• Interspecies competitors: Other dabbling ducks. Squirrels and other rodents compete
with them for nuts.
• Role/ Niche- Wood ducks are both predators and prey animals, toward the center of the
food web. They are social, riparian woodland omnivores. Since they eat both plants and
animals, they are considered both primary and secondary consumers.
Reproduction:
• Breeding season- fall and spring
• Behavior: Wood ducks are serially monogamous and stay with one mate through the
breeding season.
• Gestation – 30 days
• Clutch size- 10to 15 eggs.
o Intraspecific nest parasitism: Nests will often contain more than 15 eggs. The
others come from different female wood ducks “egg dumping” them in each
other’s nests.
o Wood ducks also sometimes will take over old or abandoned hooded merganser
nests, and if there are any hooded merganser eggs remaining in the nest they
will incubate them.
• Young are precocial and remain in the nest for 24 hours or less before following the
mother out of their nests. They safely drop to the ground or water, sometimes from
great height, without assistance from the mother.
• The male does not incubate or care for the ducklings in any way.
• Maturation age- Young become independent from the mother in 56-70 days.
Activity:
• Diurnal. Males sleep on the water. Females and ducklings will sleep in nests, but will also
sleep on the water.
Other “fun facts”:
• Wood ducks build their nests high off the ground to avid predators. When hatchlings
fledge, they leap from the nests and freely fall from heights up to nearly 300 feet
without injury.
• Only species of duck in North America that has multiple offspring broods per year.
• Second most highly hunted waterfowl in North America after the mallard.
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Wood Duck
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
Conservation Status and Threats:
• Listed on the IUCN Red List as Least Concern
• CITES – no special status.
• Protected and managed under the US Migratory Bird Act. There is a hunting season on
them.
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Wetland loss and degradation- loss of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation or “SAV”
SAVs are underwater grasses that do not emerge from the surface of the
water and are a food source for the wood duck.
SAVs require water of a specific depth and clarity in order to survive:
• Shallow enough so light can penetrate the water for
photosynthesis, but deep enough to stay submerged. SAVs lack
the waxy coating most terrestrial plants have to avoid drying out.
• Too much sediment in the water blocks sunlight and reduces the
area in wetlands where SAV can grow.
Loss of SAV due to too much sediment in the water, loss of wetland
habitat, and overgrazing from invasive species directly impacts the
amount of available food for wood ducks. Other animals also depend
heavily on SAV for food and habitat. It provides an excellent hiding place
for young fish and crustaceans, such as crabs, to grow up in safety from
predators.
• Conservation efforts-Wood ducks are a great example of a conservation success story. In
the early 1900s wood ducks were nearly driven to extinction by unregulated hunting
and habitat destruction. Good wildlife management practices and widespread nest box
programs have helped protect wood duck populations, which are now thriving, despite
being the second most hunted waterfowl species.
At the Zoo
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The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore has 4 wood ducks, 2 males and 2 females.
The males are both about 4 years old and from Fargo, ND
The females are both a year old and are from Seattle, WA
What We Can Do
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When hunting waterfowl, follow the law and use only non-toxic shot.
Support initiatives to help reintroduce SAV’s and reduce sedimentation.
Make environmentally responsible lifestyle decisions to help conserve habitat –
conserve energy and resources, reduce litter and pollution
Support the conservation efforts of local organizations like The Maryland Zoo as well as
organizations working in the field to protect wildlife and conserve habitat
Build nest boxes near streams, ponds, lakes and other aquatic habitats. Especially in
wooded areas with a lack of cavity trees.
References:
• http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Aix_sponsa/
• http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/wood_duck/lifehistory
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Wood Duck
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
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http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/wood-duck
http://www.ducks.org/hunting/waterfowl-id/wood-duck#ad-image-0
http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/birds/wood-duck.aspx
http://naturalhistory.uga.edu/~GMNH/gawildlife/index.php?page=speciespages/species
_page&key=asponsa
http://www.arkive.org/wood-duck/aix-sponsa/
8/26/2014
Wood Duck
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore