Wood Duck

Did you know that wood ducks will actually nest in a nest box? They are gorgeous, entertaining birds. Learn how to attract wood ducks to your yard, and listen to their song.

Photo: Roland Jordahl

• Scientific Name: Aix sponsa
• Family: Duck.
• Length: 18-1/2 inches.
• Wingspan: 30 inches.
• Distinctive Markings: Male is multi-colored, with an iridescent head and face, orange-red eye and swept back crest; female is gray, black and white with a bold white pear-shaped eye patch.
• Nest: Located in a natural hollow of the trunk or cavity in large branch of a tree. The female will only use her own down feathers to line the nest as she lays eggs.
• Song: Mainly thin, squeaky whistles.
• Habitat: Open woodlands around forested lakes, swamps, wooded river bottoms, along banks of wooded ponds and streams.
• Diet: Feeds in wild rice marshes, in sluggish streams and ponds filled with aquatic plants and insects. Ninety percent of food is plant life.
• Backyard Favorites: Large birdhouse with a 4x3-inch elliptical entrance hole, 10 to 30 feet high in a tree or 5 to 6 feet about the water on a post.