Redhead
Aythya americana
Habitat
Aquatic
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
1.1 kg
About This Species
Look for diving ducks with a rounded chestnut-red head and pale grey-blue bill resting in large rafts on open water, especially coastal bays, reservoirs and lakes in winter. Breeding birds favour prairie pothole marshes in the northern United States and Canada, diving for aquatic vegetation and invertebrates. Winter mornings on large open water bodies in the southern and coastal United States offer the best chance of seeing sizeable flocks.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Keep at least 50 metres from rafts of resting or feeding ducks, since repeated disturbance forces energy-costly flights during winter when food and rest are critical.
- In the United States and Canada it is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act framework, with hunting regulated by season and bag limits that vary by state, province and year.
- Approach slowly from a distance with optics rather than walking directly toward a flock, which tends to flush birds well before a close view is possible.
LCAvesAnseriformesAnatidae
Seasonal Activity
1,500,741 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
Traits
- Diet
- PlantSeed
- Foraging
- Aquatic
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 1.1 kg
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.