Ring-necked Duck - New Jersey

March 15, 2020 Greg Gard

Adult male Ring-necked Duck showing its signature chestnut colored collar:

Adult male Ring-necked Duck, USA

Reading through the Conell Lab’s description of this species, two interesting facts jumped out for me:

“This bird’s common name (and its scientific name "collaris," too) refer to the Ring-necked Duck's hard-to-see chestnut collar on its black neck. It’s not a good field mark to use for identifying the bird, but it jumped out to the nineteenth century biologists that described the species using dead specimens.”
“The oldest known Ring-necked Duck was a male, and at least 20 years, 5 months old. He was banded in 1964 in Louisiana and was shot in 1983, in Minnesota.” - source: Cornell Lab

closeup of a drake Ring-necked Duck swimming in a golden water - NJ

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