RedheadAythya americanaVar och när du kan se dem

The Redhead is a North American diving duck, named for the male’s coppery head rather than the female’s subdued brown plumage. Mixed flocks can make identification rewarding and challenging. Its registered river setting is the Upper Mississippi refuge between Wabasha and Rock Island, with overlooks and backwater visits improving views. Species reference: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Redhead/lifehistory Measurements: https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/birds/waterbirds/redhead-duck.html

Size

About 19 inches long in the Tennessee wildlife account.

Weight

About 2.3 lb in the Tennessee wildlife account.

Lifespan

Species-specific lifespan not verified.

Status

A current formal global assessment was not verified.

Redheads are gregarious during migration and can gather on river pools and lakes. They dive but also feed by dabbling or tipping up. Females may lay eggs in other ducks’ nests, although not every female follows the same nesting strategy. A migrating flock gives no indication of which reproductive strategy individual birds used.

• It occurs naturally in North America.
• The male has a rounded head.
• The bill is blue-grey with a dark tip.
• Some females lay eggs in other ducks’ nests.
• It can dabble as well as dive.
• Aquatic plants are major foods.

The registry highlights fall diving-duck rafts, but the retrieved refuge checklist provides occurrence rather than recurring monthly frequencies. Tennessee’s arrival and departure dates apply to Tennessee, not this upper-river reach. No numerical months are assigned. Consult refuge staff for current access and viewing advice.

Prairie wetlands are important breeding habitat, while migration brings birds to lakes, reservoirs, river pools and bays. The Mississippi association concerns that river-pool and refuge landscape. It does not imply nesting along the entire cruise corridor or extend evidence from one refuge overlook to every open-water reach.

Cornell lists submerged aquatic plants, including pondweed, muskgrass and widgeongrass, as well as aquatic invertebrates and fish eggs. Winter Gulf Coast diets can differ markedly from inland feeding. Those coastal findings are not a measured Mississippi menu. Watch feeding technique without claiming an unseen food item was identified.

Common name

Redhead

Scientific name

Aythya americana

Animal group

Birds

Size

About 19 inches long in the Tennessee wildlife account.

Weight

About 2.3 lb in the Tennessee wildlife account.

Lifespan

Species-specific lifespan not verified.

Status

A current formal global assessment was not verified.

Identification

The male has a rounded reddish head, grey body, dark chest and bluish bill with a black tip. Females are warm brown with a paler face and chin. Canvasbacks differ especially in their sloping forehead and long bill profile. Compare that profile rather than identifying every red-headed diving duck from colour alone.