The Wood duck is among the most stunningly beautiful of all water birds. Males are iridescent green and chestnut, with ornate patterns on almost every feather, while the elegant female has a delicate white pattern around her eye and a distinctive profile. These birds inhabit wooded swamps, where their nests are in holes up in trees or in the nest boxes around lake margins. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water.
The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year and are one of a few duck species that have strong claws to perch on branches and grip bark.
In 1918 this species was near extinction as a result of habitat loss and hunting. Wildlife management has fortunately protected this species so that it is amongst the most common ducks today in the eastern US. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water.
