Wood Duck
Description
The Wood Duck is a medium-sized perching duck, a relative of the Mandarin Duck. The adult male has distinctive multicoloured iridescent plumage and red eyes, with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female, less colourful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. Unlike most other ducks, the Wood Duck has sharp claws for perching in trees.
Habitat & Range
Their breeding habitat is wooded swamps, shallow lakes, marshes or ponds, and creeks in the Eastern Threshold, the River Province , and in small numbers in the northern and eastern Blessed Isle.
Breeding
Wood Ducks usually nest in cavities in trees, close to water. Females line their nests with feathers and other soft materials, and the elevation provides some protection from predators. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to the water. The mother calls them down to her, but does not offer any assistance. The ducklings may jump from heights of up to 290 ft without injury. Wood Ducks prefer nesting over water so the young have a soft landing, but will nest up to 150 yds away from the shoreline. Wood Duck ducklings mature very quickly: only a day or two after they hatch, the young climb to the nest entrance and jump to the ground, able to swim and find their own food by this time.
Diet
Wood ducks feed by dabbling or walking on land. They mainly eat berries, acorns, and seeds, as well as invertebrates.
Cultural Significance
Wood Duck feathers are used to decorate some clothing, and they are also consumed for their meat, though their primary popularity comes as ornamental birds in garden ponds. Some gardens will even feature ornately decorated nesting boxes mounted on branches above the water, in designs reminiscent of palaces, where the ducks can dwell.
Their green heads, Eastern range, and tree-climbing behaviour leave many considering the bird to be favoured by Sextes Jylis. It is also a symbol of the month of Resplendent Wood in Dynastic Fashions.
