The Waterfowl Harvest Survey only asks about harvest of ducks, geese, sea ducks, and brant. Why? However, it is possible to identify duck species from their wing plumage and geese from their tail feathers. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has created a series of videos on duck identification using wing feathers.
The video below is the first in the series, and shows you how to tell a female "hen. A Kaleidoscope of Color The plumage of ducks, especially that of drakes of certain species, displays stunning color and iridescence. A drake mallard's green head and its bright blue wing markings are prime examples.
Why are some waterfowl feathers iridescent while others are not? The colors we see in the plumage of waterfowl are produced in two ways: chemically and structurally. Wings of ducks contributed voluntarily to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by hunters are examined each year by experts.
This procedure involves the determination of species, sex, and age of ducks through an examination of these detached wings. Many persons skilled at examining wings of ducks have retired in recent years. When identifying ducks by color, pay attention to key features such as the presence of iridescent feathers, distinctive markings on the head or wings, and the overall hue of their plumage.
Many duck species possess iridescent patches, like the blue speculum feathers on Mallard wings, which can appear purple. Identifying ducks on the wing requires knowing a particular duck's silhouette, flock and flight patterns, size, coloration, and calls. Using these visual and audio clues can help you positively identify ducks even under less.
What is a duck's color? Male ducks have red, white, and blue-gray plumage with white crescents, spots, and lines, while females are a plainer brown but still have distinctive white markings on the head. Do ducks have wings? Ducks have small wings, so soaring like a hawk isn't an option. Color: Blue and gray Family Type: Perching Blue-Winged Teal These ducks live in marshes and build nests on the ground after a long northern migration in the spring.
Males have an easy-to-see purplish-gray head with a bright white crescent in front of their eye. The rest of their body is a fawn color with black speckles, black wings, and a black. What to Look For Differences in size, shape, plumage patterns and colors, wing beat, flocking behavior, voice, and habitat.
Sex Determination The white bar anterior to the speculum extends onto the greater tertial coverts on all female wings but terminates at the proximal edge of the speculum on nearly all male wings. Approximately 2-1/2.