Wood Duck
Learn to identify the Wood Duck by ear. Master the "male: thin "jeeeb" whistle" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Wood Duck sounds like
A medium-sized, stunningly patterned duck often considered one of the most beautiful waterfowl in North America. Males in breeding plumage have a glossy green head with swept-back crest, bold white stripes, and a red eye. The male's breast is rich chestnut with white spots, sides are golden buff, and he has a bold white chin patch. Females are mottled brown and gray with a white-speckled breast and a noticeable white teardrop-shaped eye ring. Both sexes have a distinctive broad tail and in flight show square, broad wings. Their profile shows a boxy head and long, slicked-back crest (more obvious in males).
“male: thin "jeeeb" whistle”
How to tell it apart
Lessons featuring the Wood Duck
Ready to test your ear? Practice identifying the Wood Duck's sounds in this interactive in-app lesson.
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Where you'll hear it
Wooded wetlands: commonly found in swamps, marshes, flooded forests, river oxbows, ponds with trees along the shore, and slow-moving streams. They require large trees with cavities (or nest boxes) for nesting near water. Also seen in beaver ponds and wooded creeks. In migration and winter, can be found in bottomland forests, wooded swamps in the South, as well as more open marshes and ponds (especially where there are stands of emergent vegetation or brush). They perch in trees readily and will sit on branches overhanging water.
Pairs form in late winter; Wood Ducks are early nesters. By spring, bonded pairs seek nest cavities (or nest boxes). They nest in tree cavities near water, and the hen lays a large clutch of eggs. Ducklings hatch in late spring; within a day of hatching they jump from the nest cavity (sometimes from quite high up) to the ground or water and follow the female. Through summer, females tend broods; males often regroup in small flocks to molt. Males undergo an eclipse molt in summer (losing their ornate colors and growing a duller plumage while they are flightless). By early fall, males molt back into bright plumage. Fall sees family groups and small flocks feeding heavily on acorns and seeds to build fat for winter or migration. They migrate relatively early; many depart the northern breeding areas by mid to late fall. In winter, they gather in wooded swamps and marshes in the southern part of their range, often in smaller groups rather than huge flocks, remaining until spring migration begins.
Similar species
Mandarin Duck
An Asian relative often kept in captivity; escaped individuals can show up in local parks. Males have a gaudier orange, purple and white pattern with distinctive orange "sail" feathers on the back and a white crescent above the eye. Female Mandarins look very similar to female Wood Ducks but show a pale tip on the bill and a more pronounced eye-ring without the teardrop extension. Also, Mandarin females have a scaling pattern on the flank. In North America, a very colorful male duck with orange sails is a Mandarin (Wood Duck males have no orange sails). The two can hybridize as well.
Mallard (female)
Female Mallards are larger and mottled brown without the distinctive face pattern of the Wood Duck hen. A Mallard hen has an orange-and-brown bill (Wood Duck female's bill is gray with a white outline at base) and a dark eye-line through the eye (vs. Wood Duck's white eye-ring patch). Also, Mallards have a blue speculum (wing patch) with white borders, whereas female Wood Ducks have a more subtle purplish speculum with a white edge on one side. Wood Ducks perch in trees and have a more crested head; Mallards do not perch and have a smoother head profile.
Hooded Merganser (female)
Another small tree-cavity-nesting duck that can be in similar habitats. Female Hooded Mergansers are brownish with a rusty-cinnamon shaggy crest and a thin, straight bill (as a fish-eating duck). They lack the white around the eye that female Wood Ducks have. Hooded Mergansers swim very low in the water and often dive underwater for fish; Wood Ducks float higher and rarely dive (and have a shorter, broader bill). A Hooded Merganser female's eye is yellow whereas a Wood Duck female's eye is dark brown.
American Wigeon (female)
Female wigeon are more uniformly gray-brown with a small gray bill and a smudgey dark eye patch. They do not have an eye-ring or crest. Wigeons graze in open marshes and fields and often mix in large flocks with other dabblers. A female Wood Duck in comparison has the bold white eye-ring and a more contrasting dark-and-light pattern, plus usually stays near wooded edges. In flight, female wigeons show large white patches in the wings that Wood Ducks do not have.