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By
Bob Hines
Department of the Interior
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Identification is Important
Identifying waterfowl gives many hours of enjoyment
to millions of people. This guide will help you
recognize birds on the wing - it emphasizes their
fall and winter plumage patterns as well as size,
shape, and flight characteristics. It does not include
local names. Recognizing the species of ducks and
geese can be rewarding to birdwatchers and hunters
- and the ducks.
Hunters
can contribute to their own sport by not firing at
those species that are either protected or scarce,
and needed as breeders to restore the flocks. It can
add to their daily limit; when extra birds of certain
species can be taken legally, hunters who know their
ducks on the wing come out ahead. Knowing a mallard
from a merganser has another side: gourmets prefer
a corn-fed mallard to the fish duck.This edition of
Ducks at a Distance is a cooperative effort by the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Southwest Natural
and Cultural Heritage Association. Published by Southwest
Natural and Cultural Heritage Association, Drawer
E, Albuquerque, NM 87103.
Where
can I get a printed version of Ducks at a Distance?
Contents
Dedication
to Robert W. Hines
What
to Look For
Eclipse Plumage
Puddle
Ducks
Mallard
Pintail
Gadwall
American
Wigeon
Shoveler
Blue-winged
Teal
Cinnamon
Teal
Green-winged
Teal
Wood
Duck
Black
Duck
Diving
Ducks, Geese and Swans
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked
Duck
Lesser
Scaup
Goldeneye
Bufflehead
Ruddy
Duck
Red-Breasted
Merganser
Common
Merganser
Hooded
Merganser
Whistling
Ducks
Scoters
Common
Eider
Oldsquaw
Harlequin
Swans
Canada
Geese
Brant
Snow
Geese
White-fronted
Geese
Comparative
Sizes of Some Water Birds
Wetlands Attract Wildlife
Administrative
Waterfowl Flyways
Hines, Robert
W. No Date. Ducks at a distance: A waterfowl identification
guide. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Natural
and Cultural
Heritage Association, Albuquerque, NM. Jamestown,
ND: Northern Prairie
Wildlife Research Center Home Page.
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/duckdist/duckdist.htm
(Version 04NOV97).
This
resource is based on the following source:
Hines, Robert
W. No Date. Ducks at a distance: A waterfowl identification
guide. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Southwest Natural
and Cultural
Heritage Association, Albuquerque, NM. 51pp.
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