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Wood DuckFenwick-Hollowell Wetlands Trail

Wood duck (Aix sponsa)

Description

Wood ducks are sexually dimorphic. Males have a green crested head, red eyes, bill is orange-red and the base, white in the middle, with a black tip. The chest is brown or burgundy with white specks. The belly is white, and the back has greenish black feathers with a teal wing patch. The females body is overall grayish or brownish in color, with a white patch over each eye, and a teal wing patch. They are protected under the Migratory Bird Act and you are required to have a permit to own one. These ducks need hollow trees to nest in. They are know to eat different types of seeds, aquatic plant matter, as well as different types of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates. The biggest problem facing this species is habitat loss, due to deforestation, and lost of wetlands.
Aix sponsa