A male wood duck by David Slater

Where are they from?

Year round, wood ducks can be found in various parts of the United States, but mostly in the southeastern region. During the summer, some wood ducks will travel to Canada, and during the winter, some will travel to Mexico and the northern part of Central America. They spend most of their time in marshes or wetlands like other waterfowl do.

What do they eat?

Almost 4/5 of the wood duck’s diet consists of plants such as berries, grains, nuts, and seeds. However, they do eat insects that they can catch aquatically.

How do they act?

Contrary to some popular beliefs, wood ducks are adept flyers, and will fly in wooded areas or across open spaces. During breeding season, the female chooses the site for her eggs to be laid while the male follows her to each as she decides. Wood ducks use holes that are already present to build their nesting holes because they cannot create the holes themselves.

Are they endangered?

Wood ducks are listed as “Least Concern” with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Bird Blurb

Female wood ducks participate in something called “egg-dumping” wherein the female lays her eggs in another duck’s nesting hole if the nesting site is too close to theirs.


These are some of the most colorful ducks in North America!


Source: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory