American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)

County List:

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

Habitat Requirements are Adjacent to each other

      (Lake or Pond or River) 
   adjacent to:
      (Any Emergent Wetland or Lowland Brush or Bog) 
   adjacent to:
      (Any Lowland Deciduous (Any size class)) 
      or (Any Lowland Mixed (Any size class))

Habitat List:

view size class definitions

Literature:

The American Black Duck is preeminently a bird of the forest. Breeding territories are typically located in shrubby and forested wetlands, with rivers and streams also utilized. The nest is usually well hidden in uplands, or at least a relatively dry site. Shrub and forested areas are frequently used. However, nests have been located on bog mats, sedge tussocks, muskrat houses, and in tree cavities and forks as well as in American Crow and hawk nests. Forested islands are used extensively for nesting.

The nest is located close to water, usually only a few meters or less away. Water levels near nesting sites and breeding territories are usually stable and not subject to drought conditions. Brood-rearing areas typically contain dense stands of flooded sedge, cattail or bulrush, shrubs or timber, alder-fringed streams, or swamp loosestrife bogs. Beaver floodings provide ideal habitat.

Habitat: Breeding: Marshy borders of ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams, wooded swamps, fresh, salt and brackish marshes and meadows. Wintering: Extensive open marshes of coast and interior.

A close relative of the Mallard, the Black Duck is better adapted to wooded country. With the clearing of forest, it has steadily lost ground to spreading populations of Mallards.

Habitat: Marshes, bays, estuaries, ponds, rivers, lakes. Wide variety of aquatic habitats; found on lakes in northern forest and in salt marsh more often than most dabblers. Majority winter in coastal estuaries and tidal marshes, lesser numbers on inland lakes, tree-lined ponds and wooded swamps.

Diet: Omnivorous. Diet varies with location and season. On fresh water, feeds mainly on plant material, including seeds, leaves, roots, berries. Seeds of various grasses, pondweeds, sedges, and others often a major part of diet. In tidal zones may feed mainly on mussels, clams, snails, small crustaceans, aquatic arthropods. Young ducklings eat mainly insects.

Nest: Site variable; usually near water, as on banks or small islands, but can be up to a mile distant. Generally on ground among clumps of dense vegetation, sometimes in a raised situation as on top of stump, in large cavity tree, on duck blind in water. Typical ground nest is a shallow depression with plant material added.