Wood Ducks

By Rebekah

Have you ever seen a wood duck? Wood ducks are very tricky. Read on to be a wood duck expert.

Wood ducks are very small.  Adult wood ducks are 28 inches long.  A baby wood duck is 1 to 1.5 inches (the size of a walnut shell).  Male wood ducks have a red bill and red eyes.  They have a green head and a white and brown stomach. They have a brown neck with gold and white stripes. They have a green-blue back and wings. A female has a gray bill and a white ruby-shaped patch near one eye.  She has a gray-brown head.  She has a white neck and a gray-brown-white stomach.  She also has a brown back. A baby wood duck is gray.  All wood ducks have webbed feet so they can swim. I think wood ducks are very beautiful.

Wood ducks do not eat very much but they eat some things people do. Wood ducks eat pondweed, snails, very small fish, duckweed, and bread. People eat fish and bread also.  The predators of wood ducks are foxes. People also kill wood ducks by accident.

Wood ducks live in nearly any water area!  Wood ducks live in wetlands, marshes, rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans.  Wood ducks make their home in a clump of grass, or a hole in a tree.  If you swim in one of these places you may see a wood duck!

Wood ducks have three adaptations that help them survive. These adaptations are webbed feet, sharp bills, and oily feathers.  The wood duck’s webbed feet help it swim easily.  The sharp bill helps it grab things that move.  The oily feathers help the wood duck not get cold in the water. All of the wood duck’s adaptations help it survive and are very special to them.  Wood ducks trick enemies by flapping their wings dramatically.  I am very glad I learned about wood ducks.  I hope you are!

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This page last updated: 08/28/04 .