Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)
- HABITAT - Ruddy Duck’s preferred breeding habitats include freshwater marshes, marshy lakes, and ponds. They breed and summer mostly in the prairie waters and marshes of the western United States and Canada, and typically winter in the wetlands of the Southern United States and Mexico.
- DIET - The Ruddy Ducks feeds on aquatic plants and invertebrates. Their main method for feeding is by straining. They mostly forage at the bottom of shallow water sources, taking up mouthfuls of mud and straining it through the thin plates on their bills, swallowing any food items that get strained out. They will also strain food from the water surface.
- FACTS - The Ruddy Duck has spiky tail feathers that are used in courtship displays.
