Ring-necked Duck Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesRing-necked Duck
Breeding male
Medium-sized diving duck with a peaked head. Glossy black head, front, rear, and back, with gray sides and white wedge at the shoulder. Gray bill has a black tip bordered by a white band.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 03, 2020Female
Medium-sized brownish duck with a tall, peaked head. Brown top of head contrasts with gray face, white eyering, and white strip behind bill. Gray bill has white band and a black tip.
© Dorian Anderson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, February 18, 2019Breeding male and female
Paddles across waterbodies like dabbling ducks, but dives to the bottom to eat submerged plants and aquatic invertebrates unlike dabbling ducks. Note the peaked head, white ring around the bill, and white "spur" on its side.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, March 10, 2015Not all videos have sound
Breeding male and female
In flight, wings are dark with grayish, not white, wingstripe.
© Kathryn Keith / Macaulay LibraryIdaho, March 26, 2017Nonbreeding male
Medium-sized diving duck with a tall, peaked head and a white ring near the tip of the bill. Glossy ring around neck is very difficult to see. Nonbreeding males have gray-brown sides.
© Mark R Johnson / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, September 02, 2016Breeding male
Fairly common on lakes and ponds, especially small bodies of water. Less common in saltwater.
© Suzanne Labbé / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 22, 2017Breeding male and female
Forms flocks, especially in winter and migration. Both sexes have distinctive gray bill with white band and black tip.
© Jay McGowan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, January 19, 2013Similar SpeciesLesser Scaup
Breeding male
Male Lesser Scaups have a paler back than Ring-necked Ducks and they lack the white side spur.
© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, March 04, 2011Similar SpeciesLesser Scaup
Breeding female
Female Lesser Scaups have a solid brown head, not the capped look like female Ring-necked Ducks.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, March 18, 2014Similar SpeciesLesser Scaup
Nonbreeding male
Nonbreeding male Lesser Scaups have a paler back than Ring-necked Ducks.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, February 12, 2011Similar SpeciesGreater Scaup
Breeding male
Male Greater Scaups have a paler back than Ring-necked Ducks and they lack the white side spur.
© Rajdeep Mitra / Macaulay LibraryWest Bengal, March 05, 2017Similar SpeciesGreater Scaup
Female
Female Greater Scaups have a mostly solid brown head, lacking the capped look of female Ring-necked Ducks.
© Mark Scheuerman / Macaulay LibraryTexas, January 28, 2017Similar SpeciesGreater Scaup
Nonbreeding male
Nonbreeding male Greater Scaups have a paler back than Ring-necked Ducks.
© John Reynolds / Macaulay LibraryNewfoundland and Labrador, August 03, 2016Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl(Order: Anseriformes, Family: Anatidae)
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