Redhead (Aythya americana)

County List:

Rule:

Mixed Forested/Nonforested or Nonforested Landscapes

      Lake 
   adjacent to:
      Any Emergent Wetland

Habitat List:

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Literature:

Redheads are big water birds. Feeding primarily on pondweeds and other submerged aquatic plants, they prefer shallow, productive areas for foraging. Nest sites are generally over water in bulrush or cattail stands. Redheads lay eggs in the nests of other Redheads as well as other species. Some females are entirely parasitic.

Ducks in general often lay eggs in the nests of others, but the Redhead carries this to extremes. Female Redheads regularly parasitize each other's nests, as well as the nests of at least 10 other duck species. They also have been known to lay eggs in the nests of American Bittern and even of the predatory Northern Harrier. Some females may be entirely parasitic, never incubating their own eggs. Such behavior is abetted by the social tendencies of the species, with many often nesting in close proximity.

Habitat: Lakes, saltwater bays, estuaries; in summer, fresh marshes. For nesting season favors large marshes in prairies or intermountain valleys. Migrants gather on large lakes. In winter, mainly on coastal bays and lagoons, also on freshwater lakes inland.

Diet: Aquatic plants, insects. Diet is mainly leaves, stems, seeds, and roots of aquatic plants: shoalgrass, pondweeds, smartweeds, sedges, waterlilies and others. Also eats many aquatic insects, especially in summer, plus mollusks, rarely small fish.

Nest: Site is in dense marsh (especially bulrushes) above shallow water, occasionally on dry ground. Bulky nest is built up of dead vegetation and anchored to standing growth, lined with down.