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Redhead

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description Redhead Overview

The redhead, Aythya americana, is a medium-sized diving duck native to North America. Breeding males have a cinnamon-red head, black breast, pale gray body, and blue-gray bill, while females are warm brown with a paler face. The species breeds mainly in prairie wetlands and winters on larger lakes, coastal bays, and marshes, often in mixed flocks. It feeds by diving or dabbling for aquatic plants, seeds, and invertebrates.

help Redhead FAQ

How can I tell a Redhead duck from a Canvasback?

A breeding male Redhead has a rounded cinnamon red head, black breast, pale gray body, and blue gray bill. A male Canvasback has a more sloping forehead and a dark bill, so the head shape is useful alongside color. [Cornell Lab](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redhead/overview)

Where do Redhead ducks breed and winter?

Redheads breed mainly in prairie wetlands and ponds across the Great Plains and western North America. In winter, large numbers gather along the Gulf Coast, especially in Texas and Mexico's Laguna Madre bays. [Cornell Lab](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redhead/overview)

What does a Redhead duck eat, and where does it nest?

Redheads mainly eat aquatic plants and dive for food in lakes, ponds, and coastal wetlands. Females build floating nests attached to aquatic vegetation, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service gives a typical clutch as 10 to 16 eggs. [US Fish and Wildlife Service](https://www.fws.gov/species/redhead-aythya-americana)

Do female Redheads lay eggs in other ducks' nests?

Yes. Redhead females are well known for brood parasitism, laying eggs in nests of Redheads and other ducks such as Mallards, Canvasbacks, Northern Pintails, and Ruddy Ducks. [Cornell Lab](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redhead/overview)

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