In Maine, examples of predators on adult Aythya collaris include red fox, raccoons, Northern harriers, great horned owls, American mink, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and common snapping turtles. There are also many organisms which prey on the eggs of ring-necked ducks, major predators include American mink, crows, ravens, raccoons, fox, muskrat, skunks, and domestic dogs. Ducklings may fall prey to large, predatory fish such as pike and bass.
In order to prevent predation at the nest, some females will defecate on eggs to cover their enticing scent. Some ducks fake injury when disturbed. When broods are attacked from below the water, the mother uses her wings and feet to attack while the ducklings scatter away. Adults and young use their diving ability to try and escape aerial predation.
Known Predators:
Aythya collaris is a vocal animal, but these vocalizations have not been studied in depth. The male "kink-neck" call is emitted during the courtship displays of neck stretching and head throwing. During courtship displays or when curious, the female makes a soft purring growl. When alarmed or during flight in the nesting season, the female may make a high pitched growl. Alarm calls given to a brood by the mother are short and soft 'cut-cut-cut' noises.
Ring-necked ducks rely heavily on visual communication during courtship displays. Males attract mates through various displays including neck stretching, head throwing, and nod swimming. Females respond to these displays using head bobbing. Successfully paired mates perform post-copulatory swimming, where the male and female swim side by side with heads held high. Like all birds, ring-necked ducks perceive their environments through visual, auditory, tactile and chemical stimuli.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Other Communication Modes: duets
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
This species has an extremely large range and is not declining or fluctuating in population size. Ring-necked duck habitats are currently healthy and abundant. The species is considered by the IUCN Red List to be of least concern. However, lead poisoning is common in some areas due to the ingestion of lead pellets used by hunters. In 1991 the United States called for a mandatory switch to non-toxic shot made of steel or bismuth and tin. A study done in 1996 of the Mississippi waterways found that 12.7% of 749 ring-necked ducks surveyed contained the non-toxic pellets, and of those 55% ingested both non-toxic and lead forms at some point. Also, there is a huge threat to ducklings, as they spend the majority of their time foraging, that may ingest lead as well as nontoxic pellets. Lead levels continue to be a problem years after the switch. Also, these ducks are hunted in other countries that still permit the use of lead shot.
The acidification of habitats can kill off the invertebrates Ayatha collaris relies on heavily during the breeding season. The potential adverse effects of this have not been studied in depth.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There is no direct negative effect on humans but because of the lead some ducks swallow due to human hunting (before the switch to nontoxic pellets) the possibility for biomagnification exists. That is, if this species ingests lead shot, and is then eaten by another organism such as a bass or pike, the next higher predator to consume the bass or pike is going to get a larger dosage of lead in their system. This higher organism could be an eagle or falcon, but could very well be a human being.
Ring-necked ducks are economically important in the hunting and game industry. They are widely hunted across Canada and the United States.
Aythya collaris serves as a host to parasites Clostridium botulinum and Pasteurella multocida, which cause avian botulism and avian cholera, respectively. The parasites are most prevalent in California, but have been found to cause botulism and cholera throughout the Pacific, central, and Mississippi waterways. Bacterial diseases which cause mortality in these ducks include coccidiosis, aspergillosis, and avian tuberculosis. Ring-necked ducks can be infected by a wide array of parasites.
Ring-necked ducks are both herbivores and predators on aquatic invertebrates and have a significant impact on those populations where they forage. Eggs, young, and adult ring-necked ducks are a source of food for many predators.
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
In winter, shallow bodies of water such as flood plains and the margins of lakes and bogs are filled and plants requiring moist soils or that float on the water's surface abound. Spring migrants locate food in these flooded areas. Members of this species eat mainly plant seeds and tubers from the moist soil and feed on aquatic invertebrates as well. Occasionally they prey on insects. Nesting adults and offspring forage on aquatic plant species like pondweed, coontail, cow lily, and water milfoil. Fall migrants obtain food from shallow lakes and rivers that have wild rice, American wild celery, or arrowheads.
Aythya collaris feeds mainly by shallow diving, but also collecting items on or near the surface of the water. Its preference for obtaining food from shallow waters, even though it can dive, can be attributed to the high level of biomass closer to the surface. This species is more of an opportunistic and generalized feeder than others in the same genus. The species usually consumes food during dives, but some food is brought back to the surface to be processed, such as removing food from the shell of gastropods and removing protective layers from insects.
Prey ranges in size from less than 0.1 mm to 5 cm. Invertebrate consumption is the greatest in young, and composes 98% of the total diet. Females tend to eat more invertebrates than usual during the breeding season, a time when more dietary protein is necessary. The males sometimes exhibit slight increases in invertebrate consumption, but the change is not as significant as in females. Some common prey of ring-necked ducks includes aquatic earthworms, snails, clams, dragonflies, and caddis flies.
Animal Foods: insects; mollusks; terrestrial worms; aquatic or marine worms; aquatic crustaceans
Plant Foods: leaves; roots and tubers; seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Ring-necked ducks are mainly a migratory species. During the breeding season, it can be found as far north as southern and central Alaska. Other populated portions of North America include the central Canadian regions as well as Minnesota, Maine, and some smaller portions of the northern United States. A few areas, including parts of Washington, Idaho, and other central western states of the United States are home to ring-necked ducks year-round. The species nests most often in the northern regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, the central regions of Manitoba, and the southern regions of Ontario and Quebec.
These ducks prefer to spend their winters in the southern regions of New England and the Great Plains in the United States, the southern regions of British Columbia in Canada, and areas farther south including Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. During the winter, small numbers have been found in Venezuela and Trinidad. Small numbers have also been recorded in Panama, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
This species is a vagrant in the north African countries of Algeria and Morocco, Japan, and the European nations of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
The habitat of Aythya collaris varies seasonally. During the breeding and post-breeding season the species prefers freshwater wetlands, usually fens, bogs, and marshes, all of which are quite shallow. The pH of these wetlands is usually near neutral because the aquatic invertebrates these ducks, especially females during the breeding season, consume do not fair well under highly acidic conditions. Areas commonly inhabited have a high level of organic material within. There is usually abundant vegetation, both floating and submerged, with open water zones found throughout as well.
During the winter, the species utilizes a huge array of wetlands, but is rarely found in areas with high salinity levels or depths >1.5 meters. Floodplains of rivers, fresh and brackish parts of estuaries, and shallow inland lakes and marshes are common habitats. These shallow areas are also rich with moist soil vegetation. Aythya collaris has also been found in flooded agricultural lands, aquaculture ponds, and managed freshwater impoundments.
When nesting, ring-necked ducks prefer to live in smaller, shallower wetlands. Because these areas are relatively more abundant than the large open waters preferred by several other duck species, Aythya collaris often has a relatively higher rate of nesting success compared to those species.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial ; freshwater
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams; coastal ; brackish water
Wetlands: marsh ; bog
Other Habitat Features: agricultural ; riparian ; estuarine
Using estimates from band recoveries, it has been shown that the annual survival rates of male ring-necked ducks is greater than that of the females, 63-69% versus 48-58% respectively. A possible hypothesis for this is that females alone practice parental behavior are therefore put in dangerous positions when having to defend their young, as well as themselves, from predators. The oldest banded ring-necked duck was recovered twenty years after banding, and given an age estimate of just over 20 years.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 20.3 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 245 months.
Ring-necked ducks are small to medium in size. Males are slightly larger than females. Total length of males falls between 40 and 46 cm, and between 39 and 43 cm for females. The mass of males falls between 542 and 910 g and in females is usually between 490 and 894 g. Seasonal body mass fluctuations are common and cause overlaps between the sexes. Ring-necked ducks have a wingspan of 63.5 cm.
Defining characteristics of adult males include a black head, neck, breast, and upper portions, with a whitish gray belly and flanks. On the folded wing is a distinct white wedge on the shoulder that extends upwards. Adult females are grayish brown, with the darkest coloration on top of the head. They are pale on the front of their heads, chins, and throats. Eyes are bordered by a white ring, and females appear overall duller than males. The species is similar in profile to other diving ducks, but with a tail that is somewhat longer and a head that contains a short crest, which gives it its distinct peaked or angular appearance. Immature Aythya collaris appear similar to the adults, but are more dull in coloration.
In the winter, adults and ducklings experience changes in physical appearance. The body mass of both increases, but adults show a more drastic change from their original mass.
Range mass: 490 to 910 g.
Range length: 39 to 46 cm.
Average wingspan: 63.5 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger; sexes colored or patterned differently; male more colorful
Aythya collaris is a primarily monogamous species that forms pair bonds. This occurs during spring migration, from March until April.
Reproductive behaviors are similar to that of other species of diving birds and include mutual displays. An example of this includes a neck stretch, in which the head is raised to full neck extension with the bill pointed forward and slightly elevated. This behavior can occur both in or out of the water. Drinking or bill-dipping, in which the bill is lowered into the water without raising the head, and post-copulatory swimming, where the male and female swim side by side with heads held high, are two other examples of mutual mating displays.
Male only displays include a head throw (the head is brought back until the throat is part vertical), nod swimming (a rapid swim while the head nods back and forth with the crest fully extended) and preening behind the wing (the preening of the scapular region with the wing partially extended).
Extra-pair copulations are very uncommon but have been seen in northwestern Minnesota during a drought year. This happened at a time when the body masses of returning birds, food availability, and breeding participation of the females were much lower than they had been in previous years.
Mating System: monogamous
The breeding season of ring-necked ducks occurs between the months of May and early August, with peak activity from mid-May until mid-July. Pair bonds are formed during spring migration and remain until late June or early July.
In selecting a site for nesting, pairs swim along the open waters of wetlands. The females swim into flooded vegetation looking for suitable sites, while the male keeps lookout nearby. They search for a dry or semidry site situated near water, often with clumps of vegetation. The female constructs the nest. After 3 to 4 days of nest building, the nest resembles a bowl, and by day 6 the nest is strong with a clear shape to it. Occasionally nest construction doesn't begin until the 3rd or 4th egg is laid. Nests are lined with bent grasses and downy feathers.
Female ring-necked ducks lay between 6 and 14 eggs per season, with an average between 8 and 10. The eggs are ovular in shape and range in color from olive-gray to olive-brown, possessing a smooth surface texture. Incubation starts after the clutch is completed, and the beginning of incubation is the first day the female remains at the nest overnight. Incubation generally lasts 26 or 27 days. The precocial chicks hatch weighing between 28 and 31 g. Chicks are covered in downy feathers and are capable of following parents and feeding themselves soon after hatching. Young fledge after 49 to 56 days and reach independence 21 to 56 days after fledging. Reproductive maturity is achieved quite quickly in both sexes, with both breeding in their first year, although young ducks may shy away from breeding some years due to lower availability of nesting areas.
Breeding interval: Ring-necked ducks produce one brood per season, but may produce another clutch if initial nest is destroyed.
Breeding season: Ring-necked ducks breed from May to early August (peak activity from mid-May until mid-July).
Range eggs per season: 6 to 14.
Average eggs per season: 8 to 10.
Range time to hatching: 25 to 29 days.
Average time to hatching: 26 to 27 days.
Range fledging age: 49 to 56 days.
Range time to independence: 21 to 56 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; oviparous
Average eggs per season: 9.
Parental care of offspring is exhibited by females only, but males aid indirectly in the production of offspring by attending to the nutritional needs of their mates while they are in the laying stage of reproduction. The young emerge from the egg without their mother's aid, after which she crushes the shells and proceeds to bury them, carrying them away from the nest, or ingesting them. Aythya collaris young gain the ability to dive about 48 hours post hatching, but count on surface foods mostly for the first week of life, and do not count on their mothers to feed them.
The mother generally remains with the young until fledging, but sometimes leaves earlier if the young have begun to develop the contour feathers necessary for flight. Maternal care is mostly protective. After the mother leaves, broods have been shown to spend more time feeding and less time resting, probably due to the loss of the mother's vigilant eye.
Parental Investment: precocial ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Male, Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Female)
A small black-and-white diving duck, the male Ring-necked Duck may most readily be distinguished from the closely-related scaups by its size (15-18 inches), black back, and the unique white bill stripe dividing the bill’s gray base from its black tip. In flight, it may also be identified by its gray (not white, as is the case with the scaups) wing stripes. Female Ring-necked Ducks are similar to female scaups, but are slightly lighter brown and have more pronounced eye rings. The Ring-necked Duck breeds in a broad swath across southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States from the Maritime Provinces to the Yukon. Most Ring-necked Ducks migrate south for the winter, when they may be found across the southern two-thirds of the United States, Mexico, and the West Indies. In the past century, this species had expanded its breeding range westward into Alaska and eastward into the Great Lakes region. During the summer, the Ring-necked Duck breeds on shallow, freshwater marshes. In winter, this species is more flexible in its habitat preferences, but prefers shallow bodies of freshwater such as ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. The diet of the Ring-necked Duck consists of aquatic vegetation (such as seeds and tubers) as well as small invertebrates (such as insects and larvae). One of several species of “diving ducks” in North America, Ring-necked Ducks may be observed submerging themselves to feed on aquatic plant matter or insects. In winter, they may also be observed in small flocks on shallow ponds and lakes. This species is primarily active during the day.
A small black-and-white diving duck, the male Ring-necked Duck may most readily be distinguished from the closely-related scaups by its size (15-18 inches), black back, and the unique white bill stripe dividing the bill’s gray base from its black tip. In flight, it may also be identified by its gray (not white, as is the case with the scaups) wing stripes. Female Ring-necked Ducks are similar to female scaups, but are slightly lighter brown and have more pronounced eye rings. The Ring-necked Duck breeds in a broad swath across southern Canada and the northern tier of the United States from the Maritime Provinces to the Yukon. Most Ring-necked Ducks migrate south for the winter, when they may be found across the southern two-thirds of the United States, Mexico, and the West Indies. In the past century, this species had expanded its breeding range westward into Alaska and eastward into the Great Lakes region. During the summer, the Ring-necked Duck breeds on shallow, freshwater marshes. In winter, this species is more flexible in its habitat preferences, but prefers shallow bodies of freshwater such as ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. The diet of the Ring-necked Duck consists of aquatic vegetation (such as seeds and tubers) as well as small invertebrates (such as insects and larvae). One of several species of “diving ducks” in North America, Ring-necked Ducks may be observed submerging themselves to feed on aquatic plant matter or insects. In winter, they may also be observed in small flocks on shallow ponds and lakes. This species is primarily active during the day.
The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes.[3] The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin collaris, "of the neck" from collum, "neck".[4]
Ring-necked ducks are small to medium-sized diving ducks with the following length, weight, and wingspan measurements:[5]
The adult male is similar in color pattern to the Eurasian tufted duck, its relative. Males are a little bit bigger than the female. It has two white rings surrounding its gray bill, a shiny black angular head, black back, white line on the wings, a white breast and yellow eyes. The adult female has a grayish brown angular head and body with a dark brown back, a dark bill with a more subtle light band than the male, grayish-blue feet and brown eyes with white rings surrounding them. Females also make a noise like trrr. The cinnamon neck ring is usually difficult to observe, which is why the bird is sometimes referred to as a "ringbill".[6][7][8]
Their breeding habitat is wooded lakes or ponds in the northern United States and Canada. The main breeding area is Northwest boreal forest territories. Their breeding habits also take place in the eastern boreal region of Canada but no where near the same amount in the northwestern region. In the winter months they are usually found in southern North America in lakes, ponds, rivers or bays. Ring-necked duck pairs start during spring migration. Unpaired ducks showing up on breeding grounds will most likely end up being non-breeders. The pairs stay together only for reproduction, after that, they separate. The nest is bowl-shaped, built on water in dense emergent vegetation with sedges and woody plants. The female lays one egg per day until 8 to 10 eggs are laid. They are incubated 25–29 days and the female may remain with the young until they are able to fly.[6][7][8]
These birds are omnivores and feed mainly by diving or dabbling at the surface. Ducklings are dependent on animal matter such as insects, earthworms, leeches, midges and snails. As they mature they tend change their diet to submerged plants such as pondweed and coontail, and emergents such as annual wild rice and snails.[6][7][8]
This strong migrant is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe. In Britain, occasional small flocks occur, including five at Loch Leven, Scotland in September 2003[9] and four at Standlake in Oxfordshire in April 2015.[10] In Ireland one or two individuals can be seen at any time of year. Vagrant individuals also occur each year in Central America as far south as Costa Rica between October/November and May/June.[11] They have also been reported in small numbers in Suriname and French Guiana, in northern South America.[12]
The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) is a diving duck from North America commonly found in freshwater ponds and lakes. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin collaris, "of the neck" from collum, "neck".
