Waterfowl Species ID and Scientific Names

Fulvous Whistling-Duck - Dendrocygna bicolor

bright blue legs, rice fields, standing posture,

Mute Swan - Cygnus olor

not native (from europe), orange bill with black knob

Trumpeter Swan - Cygnus buccinator

low populations, all black

Greater White-fronted Goose - Anser albifrons

• obligate migrates, breed N canada/alaska, Herbivore, upland ground nester

Snow Goose - Anser caerulescens caerulescens

Blue phase - dominate color (eagle head), farther east in breeding grounds= white phase more prominent, facultative migrates, don’t have them as much with northern rice availability; colonial nesters- running out of room; upland ground nester, HUGE flocks

Ross's Goose - Anser rossii

• shorter bill, stubby bird, grin patch not distinct, upland ground nester

Brant - Branta bernicla

• obligate herbivores - feed in shallow waters, migrate across the ocean; 7-10 goslings (slightly larger than duck)

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - Dendrocygna autumnalis

• indigenous to CENTRAL america, follow the rivers, omnivore, cavity nesters, STAND POSTURE, MALE AND FEMALE INCUBATE

Tundra Swan - Cygnus columbianus

• yellow under eye, over water nesters (create their own island for nesting), largest/biggest sp of waterfowl;

Canada Goose - Branta canadensis

• breed mostly in northern US/canada; eat grassy shoots (golf courses), ag grains, roots- WHAT DIET? Herbivore; upland ground nester

Cackling Goose - Branta hutchinsii

• shorter neck and smaller bill (½ the size of Canada Geese; looks like a duck neck); Herbivore, upland ground nester

Wood Duck - Aix sponsa

• aix sponsa, saved by migratory bird treaty, CAVITY NESTER, like acorns, brood parasite

American Wigeon - Mareca americana

• white strip over head, with green eye paint, bald look, omnivores, but ALMOST HERBIVORES

Gadwall - Mareca strepera

• gray duck, 

Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos

• most commonly found bird in the world, omnivores , first year nesters

American Black Duck - Anas rubripes

• fine edging, darker in color than mottled duck and don’t overlap irl!, hybridization w mallards= problem

Mottled Duck - Anas fulvigula

• do not migrate, glued to gulf, black spot near chin, wide edging in feather

Northern Pintail - Anas acuta

• two feathers tight together, omnivores, first year nesters, cover a lot of territory, obligate migrates

American Green-winged Teal - Anas crecca

• facultative migrates, smallest of dabbling duck, omnivores, first year nesters, feed in shallow water

Blue-winged Teal - Spatula discors

• earliest and latest migrates, secondary coverts are blue, omnivore, 

Cinnamon Teal - Spatula cyanoptera

• red eye, western US birds, 

Northern Shoveler - Spatula clypeata

• filter feeders with their lamellae, yellow eye

Canvasback - Aythya valisineria

long sloping forehead and longer black bill, red eye

Redhead - Aythya americana

• yellow eye, nest overwater, brood parasite, likely to pull Canvasback eggs and nests

Ring-necked Duck - Aythya collaris

• ring on bill, white extends into primaries, SAV

Lesser Scaup - Aythya affinis

• breeding range up to boreal forest, omnivores- BUT HEAVY MOLLUSCS AND FISH (ANIMAL SIDE); 

Common Eider - Somateria mollissima

colonial nesters in large groups- breed in islands off the coast; carnivore- DO NOT NEST UNTIL 3 YEARS, PROBLEMSOME

Harlequin Duck - Histrionicus histrionicus

• only NA duck that make habitat in fast-flowing streams; carnivore

Surf Scoter - Melanitta perspicillata

clown head, carnivores, ground nester, COASTAL BIRDS, never seen interior

Long-tailed Duck - Clangula hyemalis

carnivore, upland ground nester, almost never have in LA, 

Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola

• tree cavity nesters, FIRST NEST AT 2 YEARS

Common Goldeneye - Bucephala clangula

•  omnivore, leans to plant size, first nest in 2 years, rarely see these, tree cavity nesters

Hooded Merganser - Lophodytes cucullatus

• fish eaters, big heads, carnivores, cavity nesters, serrated bill, 7-15 ducklings, have them year round

Ruddy Duck - Oxyura jamaicensis

stiff tail, major nest parasites with other birds, the eggs are huge. Beak changes color due to hormonal changes