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The drake gadwall is a large mostly gray dabbling duck. Adult drakes have a black bill, buff head, gray body, and black upper and lower tail coverts. Hens are nondescript brown ducks with a spotted, yellowish-orange bill with black edges. Gadwalls are unique among dabbling ducks in having a partly white speculum which can be observed in flight. Common vocalizations include the deep, reed-like sounds of the male and the female's quacking, similar to but more nasal and higher pitched than the mallard hen. It is an abundant breeder locally in eastern Oregon and an uncommon breeder in western Oregon
This foreign visitor is regularly found in Oregon among wintering flocks of American widgeon. Drakes are easily distinguished from American wigeon drakes by reddish brown head, gray flank, and lack of green eye stripe. Hens are similar to American Wigeon hens and difficult to distinguish. The call of the male is a shrill whistling, whe'e you; the female's voice a low purr or croak. It is a rare to uncommon visitant east of the Cascades. Hear the call of the eurasian wigeon Photo by ©Greg Gilson
When mention is made of ducks, many people first think of the mallard. Its ability to tolerate human disturbance and adapt to urban as well as rural habitats make it the Northern Hemisphere's most abundant and widespread waterfowl. Females are mottled-brown, with dark brown stripe through the eye, orange bill with black splotching and have yellowish-orange legs. Immatures resemble adult females until males acquire nuptial plumage usually by mid-November. Males enter the eclipse molt in June and resemble hens until mid-September. Wings of both sexes have a violet-blue speculum bordered in front and behind by a pronounced white stripe. They
The blue-winged teal is one of Oregon's least common ducks. It is a small, warm-weather duck usually found in Oregon only from late spring until the weather cools in early fall. Except for adult drakes in alternate plumage, blue-wings are difficult to distinguish from cinnamon teal. For that reason its status in Oregon is less clear than that of other ducks. Adult blue-wing drakes have a gray head with white crescent between the eye and bill. Hens and young of both species are nondescript small brown ducks, but show the prominent blue wing-covert patch in flight. It is an uncommon
The bright rusty plumage of the male cinnamon teal, a bird of western North America, is a visual delight. In flight, both males and females show powder blue in the wings as they fly fast and low, timed at nearly 60 miles per hour. They weigh only about one pound. They are a common breeder throughout the state except in western Oregon and the high Cascades. They are most common east of the Cascades. Hear the call of the cinnamon teal Photo by Maxine Wyatt
The Northern shoveler's specialized bill earned it in the nickname "spoonbill" among waterfowl hunters. The drake is strikingly handsome with a dark head, white breast, reddish belly, blue wing coverts and an iridescent green speculum. Brown hens also have blue wing patches similar to that of the cinnamon and blue-wing teal. This duck is locally common in summer in eastern Oregon and uncommon in western Oregon. It is a common spring and fall migrant statewide. Hear the call of the Northern shoveler Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW
The pintail is a large, long-necked duck of open spaces. The long-tailed, full-plumaged drake is striking with a chestnut head, gray back and flanks, bright white breast and front of neck, and iridescent green bronze speculum. The brown hen is nondescript, but shares the long neck and graceful shape of the drake. Common vocalizations are the two-note flute-like whistle of the drake and harsh gaak, either single or in a series, of the hen. In fall and winter, pintails travel in medium to large flocks. In Oregon, flocks seem to fly exceptional distances in daily foraging and can be seen
The green-winged teal is the smallest North American dabbling duck. In alternate plumage, green-wing drakes have a cinnamon-colored head with a green eye-stripe, gray back, flanks, and wing with a iridescent green speculum. Hens are brown with a green speculum. This duck is mainly a migrant and winter visitor. It is an uncommon summer resident and breeder in northeastern Oregon and a rare summer resident west of the Cascades. Hear the call of the green-winged teal Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW
Although not as imposing as the Canvasback, the redhead is a large, handsome, fast-flying diver. The drake has a red head, black breast and tail coverts, and steel gray back, flanks and tail. Hens are a medium brown. During courtship, the drake utters a very un-duck-like meow. Known for nest parasitism - laying eggs in the nests of other birds, usually other diving ducks - redhead eggs have also been found in the nests of a variety of species. It is an uncommon summer resident in northeast Oregon, but commonly breeds at Batch and Bogus lakes and locally elsewhere in
The ring-necked duck, which would have been better named "ring-billed duck" and is called "blackjack" in the southeastern United States, frequents different habits than the scaups with which is is often confused. The black back, white crescent on the side just in front of the wing, and white-ringed bill separate the drake ring-neck from the scaups. The brownish neck ring of the male in alternate plumage is not prominent. The hen is a small dark brown duck with a buff face. Drakes in courtship give a head-throw accompanied by a wow note while hens utter a growling purr. Ring-necks are
This Eurasian diving duck regularly occurs in the Aleutian Islands and with increasing regularity in North America, especially along the West Coast. It is now reported annually in Oregon, between mid-October and early May, with most during January and February. All were from the coastal lowlands or the Willamette Valley, except for one on a small pond in Josephine County. They are closely related to the scaups and often associated with them. Hear the call of the tufted duck Photo by Tom Benson, Flickr
Greater scaup are almost the size of redheads. In hand, they are easily distinguishable from lesser scaup by size and by the white wing stripe extending beyond the secondaries into the primaries. In the field the two species are sometimes difficult to separate. Drakes are black on both ends and white in the middle. Hens are dark brown with a white mask around the base of the bill. The common vocalizations are the discordant scaup and purring pbbbrr of the female. Greater scaups form large flocks, sometimes mingling with lesser scaups in fall and winter. They are an abundant migrant
This small, boldly-patterned duck can be found in Oregon throughout the year, either around rocky headlands on the coast or inland on mountain streams. No other breeding duck in Oregon feeds almost exclusively on benthic invertebrates, often swimming underwater and upstream against swift current in search of prey. Though males are striking in appearance, these and the drab brown females can be difficult to see when at rest on a mid-stream rock or dodging behind rocks as they evade observers. Broods have been observed or nests located on tributaries in the river basins of the west Cascades. They are found
Although the least numerous scoter on the continent, it is the most common scoter along the Pacific coast south of Alaska and winters by the thousands off Oregon. Adult males' plumage, black except for white patches on the forehead and nape, yields attention to the bill, a swollen white, red-orange, yellow, and black wedge feathered squarely along its base. The highly visible standard advertises male's presence for up to a mile. Dark-billed adult females and subadults are dark brown above and paler brown below, with two indistinct light patches on the cheeks and sometimes on the nape. A flattened head
The white secondaries of the white-winged scoter in all plumages form a conspicuous square wing patch during flight but are often hidden during rest. Other than the secondaries, males' plumage is entirely black except for a small white teardrop around each eye. Females and immatures are dark brown above and pale below with diffuse white patches in front of and behind the eyes. A black knob graces the males' swollen, white-ridged, orange bills, while females' and immatures' bills are dark; the feathering of all extends almost to the nostril. Abundant along the coast from fall through spring, white-winged scoters are
Adult male scoters of all species are black, but black scoters are the blackest; their shiny black plumage bears no white. The swollen bright orange-yellow knob on the otherwise black bill is smaller than that of other scoters. Males are distinguished in flight by the flashing silver-gray of underwing flight feathers against black wing linings and the all-black body. Females' uniform soot upperparts and dark head cap are clearly delineated from paler cheeks; their bills are usually dark. Immatures resemble females, but most males acquire some black feathering the first fall. This scoter can be uncommon to locally common along
This restless diver of cold oceans and bays is one of the prize waterfowl to see on a coastal winter day. Although the loud, musical call of males is seldom heard in Oregon, we can still be cheered on a chilly day by this energetic visitor from the north. The winter males' body is mostly white except for a black breast and central back; the wings are dark, scapulars long and gray, and the dark central tail feathers elongate. Winter females are darker above with a light head; scapulars and tail feathers are short and dark. Dark areas mark females'
The bufflehead is North America's smallest diving duck, giving it the advantage of being able to nest in abandoned holes of northern flickers, a plentiful resource off limits to larger cavity-nesting ducks. It is a swift flyer and takes wing from water more easily and neatly than other diving ducks. Widely distributed throughout the state in winter, males attract attention with their striking white body, black back, and iridescent black head with a large notch of white; females and juveniles are dark charcoal-gray with a conspicuous white patch behind and below the eye. It is a local, uncommon breeder in
The common goldeneye drake is a strikingly handsome black-and-white diver about the size of a greater scaup. Goldeneyes are strong, fast flyers nicknamed "Whistlers" for the sound of their primaries as they zoom past on a still day. Drakes have a black head with a white spot below and in front of the eye, white neck, breast and flanks and a black back and tail. Hens have a brown head, light neck, breast and belly, brown backs and flanks. They are fairly silent and usually alone or in small groups. They tend to remain apart from other ducks. It is
Medium-sized diving ducks, Barrow's goldeneyes are the expected of the two goldeneye species in Oregon in the summer, but are typically less numerous in the winter. Drakes show graceful patterns of black and white, purple glossed head, white crescent-shaped patch between the eye and bill, steep forehead, and short bill. Females and juveniles have a chocolate-brown head, slate-gray back, wings and tail; adult females have a golden bill. They are the only waterfowl species known to defend winter territories different from breeding territories. It is uncommon from the Cascades eastward in both breeding season and winter, but it may concentrate
