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Ring-necked Duck
(Aythya collaris)
: "Ringbill"
 German name(s): "Ringschnabelente"
Size: 37-46 cm; wing span 62-63 cm
Weight: 490-910 g
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Similar
species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Ring-necked Ducks are small diving ducks.
Their plumage
is dimorphic,
i.e. males
and females
are different.
In addition, males
have different
breeding and
eclipse
plumages.
Male
Ring-necked Ducks in breeding
plumage
are almost all black-and-white, with a black head, with a peaked
hind crown, neck, chest and back. The belly and flanks are white.
The upperwings are black, with light-grey flight feathers that have
a black terminal band on the upperwing. The underwings are white.
Under most circumstances, the cinnamon-coloured ring around the
neck is invisible.
In eclipse
the parts that are white/grey turn brownish with some vermiculation
and the parts that are black lose their gloss and become dark-grey.
The base of the bill, which has a neat white circumference in
breeding
plumage, becomes
diffuse.
Females
have a much more inconspicuous
plumage.
They are basically entirely dark greyish-brown, with a
greyish head with off-white eye-rings, lores and edges
around the ear coverts.
The back is dark brownish-grey, while the front is more
brownish, as are the wing panels.
The irises of
males
are golden-yellow, while those of
females
are brown. The most easily distinguishing feature of both sexes
is the bill: It is grey, with a white ring near the tip, and
with a dark-grey "nail" (pointy tip). The white ring is unique.
The legs and feet are grey.
Juveniles
are duller brown than adult
females;
the band around the bill is either faint or absent.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Ring-necked
Duck at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Ring-necked Duck is available
HERE
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Ring-necked Ducks are a strongly migratory species of North
America. Their breeding range encompasses roughly the Saint
Lawrence Basin and the Great Lakes, up to Hudson Bay in
Canada and to southern New Foundland in
the north-eastern US, plus much of central Canada
and extending into south-western Canada, up to roughly the
Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. There are also some
breeding sites in central Alaska.
Their winter quarters are anywhere in the western US along
the Rocky Mountains, down the East coast of US southward
from the Carolinas, all the southern states of the US
and basically all of Mexico, down to the base of the
Yukatan peninsula. There is also a population overwintering
in tropical central America, including basically all islands
of the Caribbean.
During their migration they can be found anywhere in between.
Ring-necked Ducks are known to be "enterprising", with small
flocks sometimes appearing in coastal areas of western Europe.
In Europe Ring-necked Ducks are found as vagrants only.
Most reports come from the British Isles, including Ireland,
but sometimes they also reach the continental coastline,
the Baltic Sea and inland waterways in cental, western
and south-western Europe.
Ring-necked Ducks are diving ducks that live in fresh water
habitats.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
J. Pires first spotted Ring-necked Ducks
on Terceira Island, Azores, in November 2018.
Both G. Pinelas and J. Pires report
finding a Ring-necked Duck in Mora, Evora, Portugal, in May 2019.
In January 2020, J. Pires found
Ring-necked Ducks at Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal,
Portugal.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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BREEDING |
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Frontal view of a male Ring-necked Duck in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Ring-necked Duck in breeding
plumage,
upright stance
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Ring-necked Duck in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2020]
Near-lateral view of a male Ring-necked Duck in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2020]
Lateral view of a male Ring-necked Duck in breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2020]
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NON-BREEDING |
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Lateral view of a male Ring-necked Duck in non-breeding
plumage,
right, with a first-winter male, left
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2020]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Lateral view of a first-winter male, left, with a male Ring-necked
Duck in non-breeding
plumage, right
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Albufeira, near Sesimbra, Setubal, Portugal, January 2020]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
