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Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Chick Type: Precocial (Parental attendance) Type of Duck: Diving Ruddy Ducks breed in the western half of the United States and western Canada. They winter along the Pacific coastal region, southwestern and southeastern United States. Populations in southern New Mexico and northern Mexico are non-migratory. Their diet consists of aquatic vegetation (pondweeds, widgeon grass, muskgrass, seeds) and aquatic invertebrates. Female Ruddies make either floating nests with vegetation or a nest hidden along the reeds. They lay 6 - 20 large white eggs (turkey size) and the incubation time is around 23 - 26 days. Ornithologists David Lack found that this species has one of the largest egg to duck size ratios in their order. During breeding season, male Ruddy Ducks have a baby blue colored bill and a rust-red body. They lose this after the breeding season (September to March). Diving ducks have their legs more towards the end of their body so they can performance better at swimming underwater. This creates a problem for them on land because of their lege position. They walk very awkwardly. Ruddies can dive head first or gradually sink underwater. This species was introduced to England in the 1940s, and now have expanded to most of Europe. Ruddies breeds with the European White-head Duck and this creates a conservation problem there, and has lead to the culling of Ruddy Ducks in Europe. |
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