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American Black Duck

By:  and 
Edited by: Michael J. MacPaul A. OplerCatherine E. Puckett Haecker, and Peter D. Doran

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Abstract

The American black duck, with its brownish-black plumage and iridescent violet speculum, is one of the wariest of all the large dabbling ducks (Kortright 1942; Fig. 1). The black duck’s distribution is confined to eastern North America but extends into Manitoba. The black duck breeds in a variety of habitat types, from the brackish coastal marshes of North Carolina to the open boreal forests of northern Quebec and Labrador (Bellrose 1976). In acidic bogs, beaver streams, and sluggish riverine and floodplain habitats of the boreal forest, the black duck’s dark plumage (males and females have similar plumage) blends with the dark organic-stained waters of forested wetlands (Fig. 2).

Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title American Black Duck
ISBN 016053285X
Year Published 1998
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description 3 p.
Larger Work Type Report
Larger Work Subtype Other Report
Larger Work Title Status and trends of the nation's biological resources
First page 198
Last page 200
Other Geospatial North America
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