photo by Phil Swanson

Aythya americana
L 19″(48 cm).

Song or calls:
Male courting call is a loud “meow,”

Description: Large rounded chestnut head, black breast and tail, gray back and sides. Bill is blue with a black tip, and a white stripe behind the black tip. Females uniform brown, black tip at end of a pale bill.

Habitat: Breeding birds prefer larger marshes with both open areas and stands of emergent vegetation.

Where in Nebraska: Common, locally abundant, regular spring and fall migrant accross the state. A common regular Breeder in the Sandhills region; breeding much less frequent in the Rainwater Basin.

Field Notes: Divers, like the Redhead, require larger lakes and reserviors with extensive marsh habitat along the borders.

Fun Facts: Redheads are parsitic, in that they lay their eggs in the nests of other ducks including other Redheads, however, many of these laid eggs fail to hatch.

 
(click image for larger view)