Family: Anatidae, Ducks and Geese view all from this family

Description 12-14" (30-36 cm). A small brown duck with a white speculum. Breeding male mainly reddish brown, with black face and crown, and pale blue bill. Female and winter male brown, marked with blackish bars or spots, blackish line through eye, and dark line across cheek.

Habitat Freshwater marshes, rice fields, and weedy ponds and lake margins.

Nesting 4-6 buff eggs on a large mass of marsh vegetation concealed near shore.

Range Breeds irregularly on Gulf Coast in Texas; a few winter in southern Florida. Also in American tropics.

Voice Usually silent; low grunts and whistling calls.

Discussion A tropical relative of the Ruddy Duck, the Masked Duck can be as secretive as a grebe, spending most of its time hidden in marsh vegetation, where it dives for food and paddles away quickly at the first sign of danger. It flies readily and swiftly, however, and can take flight directly from the surface of the water. It seems to be more willing to fly than the Ruddy, and is most active at dusk and at dawn.