Ruddy Duck

Description: 14-16" A small chunky duck with a long tail that is often held straight up. Male (breeding) has chestnut body, black crown and white cheeks, blue bill, female and winter male are dusky brown with whitish cheeks, black bill	Habitat: Common and widespread. Preferred habitat includes freshwater swamps, marshes, ponds and lakes with emergent vegetation and areas of open water. In winter, often found in flocks on large lakes, brackish lagoons and estuaries.
Nesting: 6 to 20 white or cream-colored eggs in a floating nest of dry stems lined with down, concealed in reeds or bushes	Range: breeds from Canada south to Texas, winters around coastal perimeter of US.
Voice: Usually silent, male during courtship presses bill against chest to make a clapping sound	Diet: Mostly aquatic insect larvae, also aquatic snails, other invertebrates; aquatic vegetation, especially in winter. Most food obtained by straining animals from soft substrate ooze..

Notes: Fly infrequently, pattering over the surface of the water for some distance before becoming airborne. Do not mix freely with other ducks

When present in Oklahoma: seen more often in winter or during migration