How to Identify a Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)

• Bill: Male: bright pale blue bill with a dark tip in breeding season
• Head pattern: Male: black crown/cap contrasting with a distinct white facial patch (white cheeks)
• Tail: Male and Female: stiff tail feathers, often cocked up in the air
• Body pattern: Male: ruddy (reddish-brown) body color in breeding plumage
• Head pattern: Female and juvenile: dusky gray-brown overall with a pale buffy cheek patch crossed by a single dark stripe below the eye

Female and young Ruddy Ducks show only one dark facial stripe below the eye, and adult male Ruddy Ducks have a plain pale cheek with no stripes, unlike Masked Duck's facial pattern

Fresh marshes, ponds, and lakes; salt bays in winter; breeds on fresh or alkaline lakes and ponds with extensive marshy borders Breeds across the western US/Canada prairie pothole region and locally in the east; winters across the southern and coastal US

Typically silent; during courtship, males make a belching sound as part of the 'Bubbling Display'

Shoot from water level if you can, with the sun behind you, so head pattern and the wing patch show their true colors. Get one frame with the bird side-on and one as it stretches or flaps, which exposes the speculum and belly. Note who it is swimming with; ducks flock by species. The app names the likely species; confirm with the marks above, and check the female separately, since females of many ducks look alike.