Bird Breeds: American Black Duck

The American Black Duck is a large duck with a dark brown colored body with a lighter colored head and neck. They will weight from 720 - 1640 grams, and are pretty tall. Like the stereotypical duck, they have red or orange colored web feet. A very interesting appearance feature of the American Black Duck is that they have a purple feather on their body that may have a bit of white line on the trailing edge. The American Black Duck has a narrow dark cap, and a large lighter colored beak. Both males and females are about the same; however, males are normally slightly larger, and have an olive green and yellow beak while females will have a paler beak.

These American Black Duck has a fairly small migration area. In the summer, these American Black Duck will be found in the Eastern Canada and United States. They can always be found in Manitoba, Newfoundland, Minnesota, and neighboring areas. However, in the winter, they will migrate to warmer areas like Southern Canada, and northern Florida. The American Black Duck will breed in many wetland habitats from salt marshes to boreal bogs and river islands. In the winter, they will more likely be found in a variety of areas with freshwater areas inland.

These ducks eat a lot for their weight to be so heavy. In fact, they have a broad variety of food in their diet. For example, they will eat seeds, roots, stems, and aquatic plants. They are not only herbivores, and will also eat aquatic insects, crustaceans and some varieties of fish. Normally, these ducks will filter-feed at the surface of the water; however, they will occasionally dive deeper into the water to get food that they want like crustaceans, and some varieties of fish.

The American Black Duck will normally lay white to greenish colored eggs. They may lay only one egg in a season, and can even lay up to 17 or more eggs depending on their luck. Their eggs are normally placed in vegetation near an edge. The chicks of the American Black Duck can leave the nest soon after they have been hatched from the eggs. They are normally covered in down to help preserve the heat.