Redhead

Aythya americana

Diving duck with a copper-penny head and a soft purring call. Steals nests from other ducks to lighten its parenting load.

Population: ~1.2 million mature individuals (BirdLife/IUCN, 2021 assessment), increasing; total population (all ages) estimated well over 1.4 million by other sources vs. a 760,000-bird NAWMP management target
Habitat: Breeds on small, semipermanent/permanent freshwater wetlands and prairie-pothole marshes with dense emergent vegetation over deep water; winters on shallow coastal bays, salt marshes, estuaries, lagoons, and large inland lakes/reservoirs (e.g. Gulf Coast, Great Lakes)
Fun fact: Redhead hens frequently lay their eggs in the nests of other Redheads or other duck species (brood parasitism, notably in canvasback nests), sometimes never building or incubating a nest of their own that season.
Range: Breeds across the northern Great Plains and prairie regions of Canada and the north-central US; winters across the southern US, Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean/Central America (Cuba, Bahamas, Guatemala)
Diet: Omnivorous diving duck: aquatic plants (pondweeds, wild rice, seagrass) especially in winter, with gastropods, mollusks, and insect larvae more important during the breeding season
Size: 0.48 m
Wingspan: 0.79 m
Lifespan: 20 years

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