 Hey everybody, thanks for watching! I put this video together for two reasons. Number one, to help educate those interested in the sounds each duck makes. And number two, to have live recordings to practice to to call waterfowl in. Please consider subscribing and let's get started! American Black Duck American black ducks are similar to mallards in size and resemble the female mallard in coloration. Though the black duck's plumage is darker. The male and female black duck are similar in appearance but the male's bill is yellow while the female's is a dull green. The head is slightly lighter brown than the dark brown body and the speculum is iridescent violet blue with predominantly black margins. In flight, the white under wings can be seen in contrast to the dark brown body. American black ducks dabble in shallow water to feed on plant material and small aquatic animals insects, amphibians, etc. In freshwater habitats and mosques and crustaceans in maritime habitats. Black ducks are most common in the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways with most distributed along the Atlantic coast from the maritime provinces to Florida. They are most abundant on coastal wetlands ranging from the maritime provinces, Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River and Canada to the mid-Atlantic coast in the United States. Common Golden Eye The common golden eye like the barrel's golden eye is named for its brilliant yellow iris. Common golden eyes fly in small compact clusters with their wings making a distinctive whistle at every wing beat. Male common golden eyes have a blackish iridescent green head with a white circular patch between the eye and the base of the bill. The breast, sides, belly and patch across the secondaries and secondary wing coverts are white. The back, rump and upper tail coverts are black and the tail is grayish brown. The bill is black and the legs and feet are yellowish. Female common golden eyes have chocolate brown heads, a whitish neckband and speckled gray back and sides. The bill is blackish becoming yellow near the tip and the legs and feet are yellowish. Common golden eyes use brackish and saltwater bays and deep freshwater habitats in the winter and dive to feed on a wide variety of available animal life. In inland areas during the summer and fall they feed on aquatic insects, crustaceans and aquatic plants. Along coastal wintering grounds they feed largely on crustaceans, small fishes and some plant material. Some may move from the interior to the Atlantic and Pacific coast and south along the Mississippi and Snake Rivers. Along the Atlantic coast birds winter from Newfoundland to Florida and on the Pacific coast from the Aleutian chain south to California. Barrel's golden eye In flight a Barrel's golden eye is difficult to distinguish from a common golden eye. A puffy oval shaped head, steep forehead and stubby triangular bill help distinguish it from a resting common golden eye. The male Barrel's golden eye has a glossy purplish head with a crescent shaped white patch between the eye and bill. The dark back contrast with the white neck, breast and belly. The scapulars are black with a distinctive row of rectangular white spots. The white greater cupboards are tipped with black forming a black band between the white speckling and the white patch on the gray cupboards. The bill is black and the legs and feet are yellowish. The female Barrel's golden eye has a dark chocolate brown head with a narrow whitish collar. The back and sides are dappled gray and the chest, breast and belly are white. Barrel's golden eye is dived to feet on aquatic insects, crustaceans, small fish, fish eggs and pond weeds found in freshwater habitats and mollusks, especially blue mussels. Sea stars and marine worms found in marine habitats. Buffalo head Male buffalo heads have a large white patch across the back of the head that extends from cheek to cheek forming a bushy crest. The remainder of the head is blackish with an iridescent green and purple sheen. The neck, scapulars, breast, belly and sides are white and the back and rump are black. The upper wing service is blackish except for the white speckling extending from the inner and middle secondaries across to the outer lesser and marginal culverts. The bill is light blue gray and the legs and feet are fleshy pink. Female buffalo heads have a brown shed and neck except for an oval white patch that extends from below the eye back towards the nape of the neck. The breast, sides and flanks are dark gray, the back is blackish, the belly is whitish and the tail is grayish brown. The upper wing service is blackish brown except for the inner and middle secondaries and inner greater culverts, which are white tipped with black. The bill is dark gray and the legs and feet are grayish. Buffalo heads from eastern Alberta migrate to the eastern United States and the Gulf Coast of Mexico and birds from western Canada migrate south along the Pacific flyway. Canvas back Male canvas backs have a chestnut red head and neck, a black breast grayish back, black rump and blackish brown tail. The sides, flank and belly are white while the wing culverts are grayish and remiculated with black. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are blueish gray. The iris is bright red in the spring but duller in the winter. Female canvas backs have a light brown head and neck grating into a darker brown chest and foreback. The sides, flanks and back are grayish brown. The bill is blackish and the legs and feet are blueish gray. Canvas backs migrate through the Mississippi flyway to wintering grounds in the mid-atlantic United States and the lower Mississippi alluvial valley or the Pacific flyway to wintering grounds along the coast of California. Historically, the Chesapeake Bay wintered the majority of canvas backs but with the recent loss of submerged aquatic vegetation in the bay, their range has shifted southwards towards the LMAV. King Eider Male king eiders have a black lower back, rump, scapulars, tail culverts, breast, belly and sides. The tail is brown black and the bill is orange, sweeping upward into an orange frontal shield outlined in black with a pale blue crest. The neck, chest and foreback are creamy white. They have a white patch at the base of the tail and the four part of the upper wings. The legs and feet are dull yellow to orange. Female king eiders are tawny brown, barred with dusky brown chevrons, V-marks that can be similar in color to common eiders. The bill and facial skin are dark olive gray and the legs and feet are grayish. King eiders dive great depths to feed on mollusks, crustaceans and aquatic insects. They also feed on ill grass, witching grass and algae. There is a record of one king eider feeding on the bottom in 180 feet of water in the Bering Sea. Common Eider Common eiders are the largest duck found in the northern hemisphere. They are stocky, thick necked birds that hold their heads below body level during flight. Male common eiders have a primarily white head, neck, chest and back. The breast, belly, sides, rump, tail culverts and tail are black. The crown and forehead have a black cap while the cheeks are pale green and are used in breeding displays. A white round spot occurs on the black flank just forward of the tail. The head has a distinct sloping profile. The bill is olive gray turning yellowish near the facial area and the legs and feet are grayish green. Female common eiders are russet brown to gray. Common eiders dive to feed on mollusks and crustaceans found in shallow waters around submerged ledges and reefs off rocky coastline. Common eiders are difficult to track because most migrate over large bodies of water in remote areas. In the east they winter from Greenland to the Gulf of St. Lawrence and south along the Atlantic coast of Virginia. In the west they winter south to southern Alaska. Greater Scop Greater and lesser scop are often found together but the larger size of the greater scop is very obvious. Male greater scop also have a larger, more round, green tinted head than male lesser scop. Male greater scop have a glossy black head tinted green. The neck, breast and upper mantle are glossy black and the flanks and belly are white, sometimes with gray vermiculations on the lower flanks. The back is whitish with fine black vermiculations and the tail and upper and under tail culverts are black. The wing has a broad white speculum spanning nearly the entire length of the primaries and secondaries. The bill is a light blue gray with a black nail, the legs and feet are gray and the iris is yellow. Female greater scop are brown with white oval patches around their bills. The females bill is similar to that of the male but slightly duller and the legs and feet are gray. Greater and lesser scop are counted together because they are difficult to distinguish during aerial surveys. Greater scop dive to feed on aquatic plants and animals. In coastal areas, mollusks constitute the principal diet items. In freshwater habitats, seeds, leaves, stems, roots and tubers of aquatic plants are important items. Lesser scop Lesser and greater scop are often found together. The smaller size of the lesser scop is very obvious. Lesser scop also have a smaller, less round, purple-tinted head than greater scop. Male lesser scop have a glossy black head with a purple cast. The neck, breast and upper mantle are glossy black. Vermiculations on the sides and flanks are all brown in contrast with white chest and belly. The back is light gray with broad, heavy vermiculations of sooty black. The tail, upper and under tail culverts are black. The wing has a white speculum in the inner primaries or light brown, becoming darker towards the tips and outer primaries. The bill is a light blue-gray with a black nail. The legs and feet are gray and the iris is yellow. Female lesser scop have a brownish head, neck and chest and white oval patches around their bills. Lesser scop dive to feed on seeds of pondweeds, whige and grass, wild rice, sedges and bullrushes. They also feed on crustaceans, aquatic insects and small fish. Ringneck duck. Although male ringneck ducks superficially resemble their counterparts in greater and lesser scop, their peaked, angular head profile, distinctive white bill markings and uniformly dark upper wings distinguish them. Female ringneck ducks most closely resemble female redheads but are distinguished by their smaller size, peaked, angular head profile and pale region around the face. The ringneck name is derived from a faint brownish ring around the base of the neck which is visible only upon close inspection. The legs and feet are gray blue and the iris is yellow. Ringneck ducks are silent except in display when a low whistling note is uttered. Female ringneck ducks have a brown head with a black crown, light brown cheeks and chin and a white eye ring. Ringneck ducks dive in shallow water to feed on the tubers, seeds and leaves of moist soil and aquatic plants. Pawn weeds, coontel, water millfoil, hydrilla, sedges, grasses, wild rice, etc. They also eat aquatic insects, snails and clams. Surfscoter. Male surfscoters are entirely black with a white patch on the forehead and a larger white triangle on the nap. Male surfscoters are entirely black with a white patch on the forehead and a larger white triangle on the nape. They have large bills which are swollen on the top and truncated on the sides with black feathers extending to near the nostrils. The bill is multi-colored white, red, yellow and black, appearing mostly orange from a distance. The legs and feet are reddish orange with dusky webs and the iris is white. The female surfscoter is fairly uniformly colored dark to black brown with occasional whitish feathers. There are two whitish patches on the cheeks below the eyes. The bill is greenish black or bluish black. The legs and feet are dull orange and the iris is pale or brown. Female plumages of all scoter species are similar. The surfscoter hen can be differentiated from the black scoter by the more sloping forehead and white face patches. The surfscoter feeds mainly on mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, small fish and on green plant matter such as pawn weeds, wild celery, muskgrass and the seeds of sedges and bullrushes, rarely diving in water that exceeds 30 feet deep. They forge in the zone of breaking waves easily diving through wave crests. Black Scoter Black scoters are among the most vocal of waterfowl species. Male black scoters are entirely black except for a yellow protuberance on the base of the bill and the gray lower surface of the flight feathers. The legs and feet are dusky and the iris is brown. Female black scoters are dark brown with light whitish cheeks, chin and throat which contrast with a dark brown. The legs and feet are dusky and the iris is brown. Black scoters dive to feed on mollusks, crustaceans and small fish found in marine and freshwater habitats. Their diet also includes small amounts of ill grass, muskgrass, witchen grass, pawn weeds and algae found in inland habitats. Major wintering areas for black scoters include the Pacific Coast from the Aleutian Islands to Southern California, the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Coast from Newfoundland to South Carolina. Hooded Merganser The Hooded Merganser is the smallest of the three Merganser species occurring in North America. Male Hooded Mergansers have a large white crest surrounded by black. The top of the head, neck and back are all black and the chest, breast and belly are white. Wavy black lines can be seen on the tawny sides and flakes. The hind back, rump and tell are dark brown. The long narrow serrated bill is black. The iris is bright yellow and the legs and feet are dull yellow. Female Hooded Mergansers have a gray brown head and neck with reddish brown crest. Gray pervades their neck, chest, sides and flanks and brownish black dominates their back, rump and tell. The upper bill is black edged with orange and the lower bill is yellow. The legs and feet are greenish in color and the iris is brown. Hooded Mergansers dive in fresh water to feed on small fish, crayfish and other crustaceans and aquatic insects. Common Merganser The long narrow bill with serrated edges readily distinguishes Mergansers from all other ducks. Common Mergansers are among the largest ducks but are less stocky than iders and golden eyes. In flight, they appear more elongated than other ducks flying in trailing lines close to the water's surface. Male Common Mergansers have a greenish black crested head and upper neck. The lower neck, breast and under parts are creamy white with a variable pink wash. They have black backs and upper wing coverts with white scapulars. The bill is red with a blackish Coleman and Nail. The legs and feet are deep red. Female Common Mergansers have a tufted red brown head that is clearly defined from the lower neck by a clear whitish chin. The back and sides are silver gray and the breast and belly are white. Common Mergansers eat mainly fish, amphibians, crustaceans and other invertebrates obtained by diving underwater in marine and freshwater habitats. Hope you guys enjoyed this video. If you did, give it a thumbs up and we'll see you on the next one.