Bird Calls Radio's Bird of the Day for Wednesday, Sept. 21
Wood duck and ring-necked duck by Chris Bosak (copyright, all rights reserved)
The Bird Calls Radio’s Bird of the Day for Wednesday, Sept. 21, is the ring-necked duck (seen here swimming with a wood duck). After 12 years, I’ve finally gotten used to calling this duck by its proper name, instead of “ring-billed duck.”
Ring-billed duck would seem to make more sense since the white ring on its bill is a better and more obvious field mark than the slight ring around its neck — but alas it is the ring-necked duck.
Ring-necked ducks show up — sometimes in large numbers — throughout New England by the middle of the fall. They prefer freshwater and are often seen with other duck species, such as wigeon, teal and (as seen above) wood ducks.
Female ring-necked ducks lack the colors and decor of the male, although they still show a ring around the bill.
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