Anatidae-Gray

﻿ The Ruddy Duck


Kingdom- Animalia Phylum- Chordata Class- Aves Order- Anseriformes Family- Anatidae Genus- Oxyura Species- Oxyura Jamaicensis __**Family Information**__- The family Anatidae is made up of 146 species. Some of the animals in this family are the Trumpeter Swan, the Cotton Pigmy Goose, the Mallerd, and the Black Bellied Whistling Duck. They are all excellent swimmers, divers, and floaters. These animals all share some commen features. They all have webbed feet for swimming, they all have long skinny necks, they all have shorts pointed wings, they are not very good flyers because of that. Also they have short strong legs. Most of these animals in this family are relatively small birds, but some could be larger then others. The Ruddy Duck happens to be smaller. The animals in the family are all herbivours. That means that they only eat plants.



__**Movement**__- The Ruddy Duck does not fly that much. Because of its short pointed wings, it is not able to get airborn that easy. It can fly, but must have a running start and a lot of room. The duck is a very good swimmer, though. Its small body and webbed feet help with its diving and swimming abilities.

__**Metabolsim**__- The Ruddy duck is a herbivour, which means that it eats a lot of plants. It eats pondweeds, algae, wild celery, seeds, smartweeds, and grasses. It does eat some aquatic insects such as shellfish and some crustaceans. Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods. The Ruddy Duck eats its food by diving down to the bottom of the pound. Then they scoop up a big glob of mud. They use their flat bills to filter out the food they want, then spit out the mud.

__**Growth and Development**__- The Ruddy Duck is a very small duck. The male only grows to be 15.4 inches, while the females get to be a little smaller at 15 inches. The average weight of the male duck is about 1.20 puonds and the female is about 1.19 pounds. They take about one day after being born to start swimming and diving with their mothers and about 42 to 49 days untill they start to fly. They do not start reproducing untill the duck is about two years old.

__**Responce to Stimuli**__- The Ruddy Duck is a migrating bird, which means that it goes somewhere warmer in the winter. They live in warm bays in the pacific in the winter, while in the summer they live in fresh water sources such as lakes and ponds. The duck also reproduces in the summer. They can do a couple of things to help adapt to their habitat. One thing they have is webbed feet. Their feet help them because they can't fly very well. They can only really swim. The webbed feet help them do that. The Ruddy Duck also has a flat bill. This adaption helps them with their feeding process. The last adaption that they have is that they are nocturnal, which means that they hunt for their food at night. They do that to avoid any predators.

<span style="color: #00a4ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">__**Reproduction**__- The mother Ruddy Duck is usually pregnant for about 22 to 29 days. This duck, and every duck or bird, lays eggs. The female duck can have about 8-10 eggs at a time, but it could have anywhere from five to ten.

<span style="color: #00a4ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">__**Differences** **Between Males and Females**__ <span style="color: #00a4ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">**Males**- The males are a bit bigger then the females, but not by much. They are a rusty brown color on their bodies. The males have a light or sky blue bill. They also have a little white spot below their eyes and on thier head. <span style="color: #00a4ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">**Females**- The females are not a brown color but a more gray color. They have a dark gray bill and are also have a little white cheek mark on their head. But overall the female is darker then the male.



Links- [|www.seattleaudubon.org/birdweb] [|www.ducks.org]