This duck, also called the New Mexican duck, closely resembles the female mallard but has a grayish-brown instead of a whitish tail. It is found in New Mexico and the Rio Grande valley.

The Mexican duck is Anas diazi.

This fowl is similar to the black duck, but is yellowish-brown. It is found from Florida to Texas.

The mottled duck is Anas fulvigula.

See Mexican Duck, in this list.

The oldsquaw has black-and-white plumage and two distinctively long tail feathers. It is one of the fastest of the sea ducks. The oldsquaw breeds from the Arctic Ocean south into Canada. It winters on the northern Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Great Lakes.

The oldsquaw is Clangula hyemalis.

This graceful bird can be identified by its slender neck, pure white underparts, and long, slender central tail feathers. The male has a mellow whistle instead of a quack. The pintail is easily tamed. It is found from extreme northern Canada to California, Colorado, and Illinois in summer and to Central America in winter.

The pintail is Anas acuta.

This duck is very much like the canvasback in both coloring and flavor. The redhead is slightly smaller and has a shorter bill and round head. It breeds in southern Canada and the western United States, and winters in the southeastern United States and Mexico.

The redhead is Aythya americana.

This is a black-backed, blackheaded duck with white underparts. The narrow, chestnut-brown collar is not always visible. There is a white ring across the bill. The ring-necked duck breeds from Oregon and the Dakotas northward and winters as far south as Panama.

The ring-necked duck is Aythya collaris.

This fowl has reddish-brown plumage, white cheek patches, dark crown, and blue bill. The tail feathers are separated, pointed, and stiff. It is one of the smallest members of the duck family. An expert diver and swimmer, it can quickly submerge itself to avoid danger. The ruddy duck is chiefly a western species, found from Canada to Central America.

The ruddy duck is Oxyura jamaicensis.

The scaup, also called the bluebill, has a black head and breast, gray back, white sides, and black tail. The bill is blue. In the greater scaup the head is glossed with green; in the lesser scaup, with purple. Both species breed in central Canada. The greater scaup winters mainly on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The lesser scaup is common inland in winter.

The greater scaup is Aythya marila; lesser, A. affinis.

The black, or common, scoter is entirely black, with a yellow-orange knob at the base of the upper part of the bill. It breeds from Labrador to Alaska and winters on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Great Lakes. The surf scoter is similar to the common scoter except for two patches of white on its head. Its range is similar to that of the common Scoter. The white-winged, or velvet, scoter is black and has a white spot on each wing. It breeds chiefly in west-central Canada and winters on the Great Lakes and the Atlantic coast.

The black scoter is Melanitta (or Oidemia) nigra; surf, M. perspicillata; white-winged, M. fusca.

This duck paddles about on shallow ponds, scooping up mud and vegetation with its flattened, spoonlike bill. It strains the mud and water out at the sides and eats the vegetation. The shoveler is mainly black and white, with reddish underparts and sides. It is found in many parts of North America.

The shoveler is Anas (or Spatula) clypeata.

The teal is generally found in marshy areas and often appears to be standing on its head, rooting about the bottom for small plants and seeds. It is about 15 inches (38 cm) long. The green-winged teal is gray, with a brown head. There is a vertical white mark on the side in front of each wing, a green patch on the rear edge of each wing, and a green patch on the side of the head. The green-winged teal is found all over North America, Europe, and Asia. The cinnamon teal is reddish, with a blue wing patch. It is found in western Canada, the western United States, and Central America. The blue-winged teal is gray-brown, with a large white crescent in front of each eye, and a blue patch on each wing. It breeds in many parts of North America and winters as far south as Peru.

The green-winged teal is Anas crecca; cinnamon, A. cyanoptera; blue-winged, A. discurs.

Its names refer to its shrill whistling cry and to its habit of perching in trees and nesting in hollow trees, which are often quite far from water. The bird has long legs and neck, a short tail, and short rounded wings. The black-bellied whistling duck is cinnamon-brown above and black below. It has a pink bill and large white wing patches. It is found from Texas to Argentina. The fulvous whistling duck is mainly yellowish-brown, with a dark back and a creamy stripe on each side. This duck is found from Louisiana and California south to southern Mexico.

The black-bellied whistling duck is Dendrocygna autumnalis; fulvous, D. bicolor.

The American widgeon, or baldpate, is a gray-brown duck with a white crown, green patch behind each eye, and white markings on the wings and tail. In the European widgeon the head is red-brown with a buff-colored crown. The American widgeon breeds in western Canada and the western United States, and winters over a wide range including the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The European widgeon breeds in Europe and Asia but occurs regularly in various parts of North America in winter.

The American widgeon is Anas americana; European, A. penelope.

This bird is considered the most beautiful of American waterfowl. It has velvety purplish wings and a metallic-green head marked with white lines. The breast is chestnut bronze. The wood duck breeds in southern Canada and the northwestern and eastern United States. It winters as far south as Mexico and Cuba. The wood duck nests in hollow trees and has a plaintive whistling cry.

The wood duck is Aix sponsa.

Mandarin ducks have whiskers, just as cats do. But a mandarin’s whiskers are very different from a cat’s. A drake’s bright orange whiskers are made of tiny feathers that hang from the sides of its head. Female mandarins also have feathery whiskers, but they are not colored brightly.

Drake mandarins also have a special set of feathers that look like sails.

What do mandarin ducks do with their special feathers? Like swans, mandarins display to attract mates. Drakes puff out their whiskers and sails to attract females.

Most swimming birds live near lakes, ponds, and oceans. But torrent ducks live on white-water rivers. Here, the water moves so quickly over rocks that it looks white and foamy.

Life in such fast waters isn’t easy. Torrent ducks have big, strong webbed feet that help. They can grip slippery river rocks without falling. Their body shape and strong feet help them swim in the river currents.

Torrent ducks have long, narrow bills. These ducks eat larvae (LARH vee), the wormlike stage of newly hatched insects. The ducks use their bills to reach between river rocks to get the larvae.