American Black Duck vs White-headed Duck
Anas rubripes compared with Oxyura leucocephala
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | American Black Duck | White-headed Duck |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Anas rubripes | Oxyura leucocephala |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Endangered |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 53.4 cm (21.0 in) | 29.7 cm (11.7 in) |
| Weight | 1211.25 g (42.73 oz) | 705.0 g (24.87 oz) |
| Diet | Eats fish and aquatic invertebrates; dives in coastal and freshwater habitats; diet shifts toward molluscs … | Dives for aquatic invertebrates, seeds, and plant roots in Mediterranean and Central Asian wetlands. Critically … |
| Clutch Size | 1-17 | 3-10 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
American Black Duck
Freshwater and brackish wetlands in eastern North America from Atlantic Canada south along the coast to Georgia. Breeds in northern bogs and wetlands. Winters on coastal marshes, estuaries, and freshwater lakes.
Song & Call Comparison
American Black Duck
Female produces a loud, deep quacking series; male gives a low, raspy grunt. Voice is deeper and huskier than a Mallard; pairs call powerfully across northeastern North American wetlands.
White-headed Duck
Male produces a mechanical, rapid bill-drumming; female gives a harsh, grating quack. The drumming staccato display is the same pattern as other Oxyura stiff-tails; heard on Eurasian steppe lakes.
Geographic Range & Migration
American Black Duck
Breeds in the steppe zone of Central Asia; winters in South Asia, East Africa, and coastal Southeast Asia.
White-headed Duck
Breeds in Spain, Turkey, central Asia, and Mongolia. Winters in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and northern India. Globally endangered.
Conservation Status
American Black Duck
White-headed Duck
How to Tell Them Apart
American Black Duck
Sooty dark brown body; head and neck paler buff with dark streaking. Iridescent purple speculum without white border. Males have yellow-green bill; females olive with orange blotches. Silvery underwings in …
White-headed Duck
Male has entirely white head with small black crown patch, rich chestnut-brown body, and large bulbous powder-blue bill. Female is brown with pale whitish face divided by dark streak across …
About These Birds
American Black Duck
A large dark brown dabbling duck closely resembling a very dark female Mallard, with purple speculum, yellowish-olive bill in males, and orange legs. Common in eastern North America. Hybridizes freely with Mallard; pure populations declining in the interior.
White-headed Duck
A stiff-tailed duck (~705 g) of family Anatidae, males with a distinctive white head and swollen blue bill. Breeds on brackish and freshwater lakes in Spain and Central Asia; winters in Mediterranean and Central Asian wetlands. Dives for aquatic vegetation and invertebrates. Endangered due to hunting, hybridization with introduced Ruddy Duck, and wetland loss.