Ducks, Geese, and Swans Flashcards
(32 cards)
cooo-leee; cooo-leee (slow; plaintive) whinny
Common Loon
Like grebes, it can vary in buoyancy and appears to be low on the water.
Black head and neck with notable striped collar. White breast with drak black and white flecks.
Phonetic renderings vary between observers.
Greater White-Fronted Goose
Smaller than Canada Goose.
Grayish brown body, head, and neck, except for a small white batch surrounding the base of the bill.
Colloquially known as “Speckle-Belly.”
Bright orange bill and legs distinguishes it from all but snow goose.
Probably noisiest of all waterfowl. Vocalizations considered calls, not songs (see medialink).
Basic Call. Primary vocalization a loud nasal, monosyllabic whouk or kowk or disyllabic kow-luk
Snow Goose
Smaller than Canada Goose, most often all white!
Has a color phase (of mostly greyish blue body and white head + neck) known as “Blue Goose.”
Prominent black tomium and white wingtips.
The call is similar to Canada’s, but nasaly and squeaky.
Cackling Goose
Mini version of the Canada Goose! Nearly identical plumage, but a smaller body, shorter neck, and stubbier bill.
Look at bill size relative to head - lower ratio of bill to head length than Canada.
Bit more grey on the back and gold on the breast.
The call is similar to Canada’s, but nasaly and squeaky.
Deep and less nasaly than Cackling.
honk; honk; honk
Canada Goose
One of the most abundant Wisconsin birds.
Longer bill-to-head ratio than Cackling.
Looks more…severe?
Deep and less nasaly than Cackling.
Call
Mute Swan
Introduced from Eurasia.
Orange bill with a bulbous black saddle at the base.
Often holds neck in an S-shape and fluffs up it’s back wings, like a swan boat.
resounding trumpeting
Trumpeter Swan
Completely white with dark bill and legs, like the Tundra Swan.
Usually lacks a yellow spot below the eye.
The top of the trumpeter swan bill is evenly angled, like the hypotenuse of a triangle.
White feathers on it’s forehead forms a “v” like a widow’s peak, and is significantly larger than the Tundra.
Adult voice is suggestive of the Canada Goose (Branta canadensis); more goose-like, higher pitched, and less harsh than that of the Trumpeter Swan.
Tundra Swan
Smallest swan in Wisconsin.
Has bare black bills and legs, and no black wingtips.
Usually has a small yellow spot near the eye.
Slightly concave upper bill, and eyes appear to be separated from the back skin at the base of the bill.
Male sounds like an up-slurred “ZZZZZZZZZIIIIPPP!”
Females make a loud, two-syallable “OO-EEK!” scream when flushed.
Wood Duck
One of our most colorful birds, with an iridescent green head with a shaggy, down-swept crest and a bright orange bill and legs.
The female is brown and dull but has a dull, shaggy crest and a white “tear-drop” around the eye.
Male sounds like an up-slurred “ZZZZZZZZZIIIIPPP!”
Females make a loud, two-syallable “OO-EEK!” scream when flushed.
ales. The most common vocalization of males is the Burp, a deep reedlike araeaeb uttered singly or in series of 2–3 (4–5 in pursuit flight). When associated with Grunt-Whistle Display (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below), consists of nasal geee sound followed by Burp (Figure 2B) when neck is fully stretched. During Mutual Chin-Lifting (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below), drake gives Burp on first and third movements and whistles on second. Head-Up-Tail-Up, Down-Up sequence in males (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below) associated with series of whistles and Burps: raeb-zee-zee-raeb-raeb .
Female. Quack (Figure 2C) more nasal and higher pitched than that of Mallard. Decrescendo Call consists of series (4–7) of relatively short notes beginning with high pitch and decreasing in pitch and volume with each successive note. Similar to analogous Mallard call, but has slightly higher pitch and more rapid sequence of notes.
Gadwall
Called the “Grey Mallard” by hunters, and our greyest dabbling duck,
Grey body and grey bill with a contrasting brown head.
Note the black tail!
Male slow whistle call
American Wigeon
Called the “Baldplate” because of the white patch on it’s forehead and crown that looks like a baldspot.
Brownish head, with a dark green patch extending back from the eye to the nape.
Like Gadwall, it has a grey bill. Note the prominent tail.
Male. Most common call is a reedy raeb . Functions as alert or warning signal when given as a single note; 2-note raeb-raeb is used as sexual or conversational call. Gives flutelike Whistle during several sexual displays. In Down-Up Display (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below) male dips bill in the water, the tail is raised and the head is jerked upward. When head is highest Whistle is given followed by raeb-raeb call. In Grunt-Whistle, Whistle is given first, followed by low-frequency grunting sound. Male performs Head-Up/Tail-Up Display (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below) and Whistles as he turns to face female. After copulation, male may give high Whistle before Bridling (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below).
Female. Familiar loud quack is most common, but also gives other calls. Decrescendo Call generally is about 6 syllables long- quaegeageageageag -with accent on second syllable and decreasing amplitude of successive notes. Given mostly in morning and evening; functions to attract mate or conspecific. During Inciting (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below), female’s call, ggeggeggeggegge, is irregular in duration. May quack persistently or give single quack or group of quacks irregularly. Quacks characteristically are given by paired females about to begin laying. Repulsion Call is a series of harsh gaeck notes given by females incubating or caring for young when pursued by males. Alarm Call is single quaaack given by females when disturbed. Maternal Call is a series of notes- quai quai quai -low in frequency and amplitude, given as hatching nears.
American Black Duck
Like a female Mallard, but the body is a dark chocolate brown.
The bill is yellowish, with no black marking, and the speculum is blue but has no white edging.
Lighter brown head contrasts with a darker body.
Male whistles and calls
Blue-Winged Teal
One of our smallest ducks.
Named for chalky-blue patch on the forewing.
Blueish-grey head with a prominent white crescent at the base of the bill.
Male calls
Northern Shoveler
Long, flat, spatula-like bill.
Male has an iridescent green head, white breast, and rust or rufous sides.
Female looks like a female mallard, bu the bill differentiates it.
Male whee whistle and female repulsion calls
Northern Pintail
Looks lanky cause it has such a long neck!
Chestnut head and nape with a white breast and neclk, extending up to the side of the head.
Grey body, white hip patch, and long, needly tail.
Male whistle, display and chatter calls
Green-Winged Teal
Brown to rust-colored head with a green patch extending back from the eye.
White “spur” extending up the front of the side. Cream-colored tail.
Body is primarily grey!
Male. Generally silent except during certain behavioral displays. Primary vocalization a relatively soft, trisyllabic “cooing,” that has been denoted phone-tically as ick, ick, cooo, with first 2 syllables quick and high pitched, not carrying far; slight pause between second and third syllables; third syllable lower in pitch and slightly louder; often only part of call heard from a distance (Bent 1923, Palmer 1976); frequently given in association with Kinked-Neck or Headthrow display in courting groups, during spring migration and after arrival on the breeding grounds (see Behavior: sexual behavior, below). During breeding, male also utters a 1- to 3-syllable cough, depicted as we wek-wek, during Sneak display (M. Anderson pers. comm.).
During winter, nonbreeders (male or female) utter a subdued wheezing rrrrr-rrrrr-rrrrr vocalization when a conspecific approaches their foraging site; given in association with Bill-in-Water display after surfacing from a foraging dive when an intruder approaches closer than 3 m (Alexander 1980c).
Female. During courtship, Inciting or Neck-Stretching display, utters a low, guttural krrr-krrr note (Palmer 1976, Johnsgard 1978), or gratty, raspy rattling hrrrr or kerrr (M. Anderson pers. comm.). Females observed quietly vocalizing tuc-uk-uk-uk while on nest with pipped eggs; as eggs hatch, females continue to vocalize louder and more frequently; away from the nest, female gives a low-pitched, faint kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk attraction call to assemble her brood; call given about 6 times/s; alarm call a rather harsh kurr (Collias and Collias 1956) or high-pitched kerrr - kerrr - kerrr trill; female also gives kuk call in a variety of threat postures (M. Anderson pers. comm.). May produce a loud squak or quack when taking flight and a coarse, drawn-out whine whaa-aaa-aaa or graack - graack - graack - graack call in flight when pursued by a male (Palmer 1976, M. Anderson pers. comm.).
Canvasback
Rusty red head, black breast, and light grey back.
Bill is longer and more evenly sloped than the readhead.
whistle calls or meow calls of male
Readhead
Rusty red head, medium grey body.
Upper bill is slightly concave so it has a “ski-jump” profile.
croak
Ring-Necked Duck
The pinkish thing at the base of it’s neck is barely visible in the field.
Dark purplish head, and both the breast and back are all black, unlike any of our other ducks.
Whitish ring near tip of the bill.
Calls
Greater Scaup
Has a rounded crown with no peak, and a harger, longer, and wider bill than the lesser scaup.
Calls
Lesser Scaup
Colloquially known as “bluebill”.
Has a purplish, glossy head and light grey back and sides, similar to the Ring-Neck Duck.
Top of it’s head is not round, but a notable peak near the back of the crown.
Male courtship chase calls
Bufflehead
Similar to the Common Goldeneye, with a glossy greenish-purple head, but has a large white spot behind the eye that extends up into the crown.
Zeeee-ZEEEE and rrrt calls male
Common Goldeneye
Glossy green head with a prominent round, white spot behind the bill.
Solid white on the breast and sides but the back is black with blind-like white slats.
Display flight calls
Ruddy Duck
A large white patch on their cheek with a darker head and crown.
Rusty body with a bright, bluish bill.
A long still tail.
