Oxyura jamaicensis
Order Anseriformes
Family Anatidae
Subfamily Anatinae
♂ Adult male in breeding plumage.— Crown and nape black; sides of head and chin white; upper parts, throat, and fore neck bright reddish-brown; upper part of breast tinged with reddish-brown; rest of under parts silvery white; tail brownish-black, the separate feathers stiff and pointed; no white on wing.
♀ Adult female and as Immature.— Top of head dark brown, white stripe from below the eye to back of neck; back grayish-brown; under parts dull whitish. Bill short and broad.
Nest, of reeds, built up out of the water.
Eggs, dull white.
The Ruddy Duck occurs a migrant both on the coast and on inland waters in March and April, and in October and November. It breeds rarely in northeastern Maine, and has also been found breeding in Rhode Island and on Cape Cod. It was formerly a common migrant, but is now rapidly decreasing in numbers. It is as quick at diving as a grebe, and has the latter’s power of sinking till only the bill is exposed. It may be recognized by its small size, squat appearance, and by the white or whitish sides of the head. The tail is often conspicuously cocked up, the short stiff feathers showing separately. “When rising from the water, it runs on the surface for some distance and generally against the wind… when on the wing, it flies low along the surface of the water, with a rapid beat of its broad wings, making a short plump figure, quite uncommon for a duck” (Langille).
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)