- Redhead (duck)
Taxobox
name = Redhead
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
image_width = 200px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Aves
ordo =Anseriformes
familia =Anatidae
subfamilia =Anatinae
genus = "Aythya "
species = "A. americana"
binomial = "Aythya americana"
binomial_authority = (Eyton,1838 )The Redhead ("Aythya americana") is a medium-sized
diving duck , 37 cm long with an 84 cm wingspan.The adult male has a blue bill, a red head and neck, a black breast, yellow eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a darker bluish bill with a black tip.
The breeding habitat is
marsh es andprairie potholes in westernNorth America . Loss of nesting habitat has led to sharply declining populations. Females regularly lay eggs in the nests of other Redheads or otherduck s, especiallyCanvasback s. Redheads usually take new mates each year, starting to pair in late winter.Following the breeding season, males go through a
molt which leaves them flightless for almost a month. Before this happens, they leave their mates and move to large bodies of water, usually flying further north.They overwinter in the southern and north-eastern United States, the
Great Lakes region, northernMexico and theCaribbean .This strong migrant is a very rare vagrant to western
Europe .These birds feed mainly by diving or dabbling. They mainly eat aquatic plants with some molluscs, aquatic insects and small fish.
Gallery
References
* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
External links
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Redhead.html Redhead Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1460id.html Redhead - "Aythya americana"] USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/redhead_info.htm Redhead Information and Photos] - South Dakota Birds and Birding
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=524 Redhead videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.