Understanding Waterfowl: Courtship and Pair Bonding
For waterfowl, timing is everything when selecting a mate. By Mike Brasher, Ph.D.
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Understanding Waterfowl: Cross-Seasonal Effects
Habitat conditions on migration and wintering areas may influence waterfowl breeding potential the following spring. By J. Dale James, Ph.D.
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Understanding Waterfowl: Fat Is Fit
Gaining weight is a good thing for waterfowl during fall and winter. By John M. Coluccy, Ph.D., and Jessica B. Ruthenberg.
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Understanding Waterfowl: Tracking the Mallard Migration
Research has provided a wealth of new information about mallard movements and habitat preferences. By Luke Naylor and Andrew Raedeke, Ph.D.
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Understanding Waterfowl: Drakes and Ganders
A closer look at the fascinating mating strategies of male ducks and geese
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Understanding Waterfowl: Seasonal Wetlands and Breeding Ducks
These small, shallow-flooded basins are vital to waterfowl production on the prairies
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Understanding Waterfowl: Stopover Country
Wetlands and rivers in America's heartland provide vital migration habitat for millions of waterfowl
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Understanding Waterfowl: Mallards and Their Relatives
Widely distributed across North America, Asia, and Europe, the mallard is the most abundant duck in the northern hemisphere. Mallards are successful because they are adaptable, which allows them to exploit diverse habitats and resources. Mallards are also one of the most prolific breeders in the waterfowl world. In some cases, hen mallards have been observed making up to six nesting attempts in a single breeding season.
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Understanding Waterfowl: Story of the Giants
A closer look at the remarkable comeback of the giant Canada goose
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Understanding Waterfowl: Drought and Deluge
We can't control the weather, but conserving wetlands and grasslands on the prairies will help ensure the long-term health of duck populations
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Understanding Waterfowl: The Amazing Molt
Waterfowl replace all of their feathers with new plumage at least once a year
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Understanding Waterfowl: The Blue-Winged Ducks
Northern shovelers and blue-winged and cinnamon teal are among the most closely related of North America's ducks
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Understanding Waterfowl: The Amazing World of Macroinvertebrates
You don't have to journey to a faraway galaxy to see an amazing world inhabited by "brain-jacking" parasites and monsters with extendable lower lips that can reach out and snatch unsuspecting prey.
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Understanding Waterfowl: Duck Digestion
Understanding why and when certain foods are good for waterfowl and how they are digested is an interesting and somewhat complex subject.
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Story of Survival
As a waterfowl biologist, I am often asked how long ducks and geese live. Well, it all depends.
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Finding the Way
Waterfowl have amazing navigational abilities that guide their migrations
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Waterfowl Feeding Adaptations
Ducks and geese are well equipped to find food in a variety of habitats
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Understanding Waterfowl: Ways of the Wigeon
These fascinating ducks have many characteristics and behaviors that set them apart
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Understanding Waterfowl: Tracking the Black Duck
DU research sheds new light on this prized bird's migration habits
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Understanding Waterfowl: Waterfowl Feathers
Feathers are indeed among the defining characteristics of waterfowl and other birds. Birds, in fact, are the only animals that have feathers. And while feathers have many specialized functions, their most important jobs are to protect birds from the elements and to enable flight. In bitter cold, wintry conditions feathers are a duck's first line of defense.
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Waterfowl Diseases
Ducks and geese suffer a variety of illnesses that are seldom evident to people
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Waterfowl Research Articles
The following articles were previously featured in the "Understanding Waterfowl" column of the Ducks Unlimited Magazine.
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Summer's End
After the breeding season, ducks must molt and must build energy reserves in time for fall migration.
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Danger From Above
Raptors are common predators of waterfowl in many areas of North America.
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Duckling Survival
A variety of factors influence how many young ducks fly south each fall.
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Waterfowl Mating Systems II
How ducks and geese select their mates and maintain pair bonds varies among species.
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Waterfowl Sex Ratios
A variety of factors influence the proportion of males and females in waterfowl populations.
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Diving Ducks: Into the Deep
Diving ducks are perfectly designed for feeding in deep-water habitats.
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Life in the Egg
A look at the incubation process and the amazing transformation that occurs within each egg.
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Nest Site Selection
Selecting a nest site is an important decision in the annual cycle of ducks. Nest site choice can influence whether the female survives the nesting season and her eggs survive to hatch.
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Waterfowl Energy Demands
Ducks need an abundance of carbohydrate-rich food to meet their needs during migration and winter.
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Nature or Nurture
Both instinct and learning play important roles in shaping waterfowl behavior.
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Stay Off My Pond
Gregarious throughout much of the year, waterfowl seek isolation during the breeding season.
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Flying Machines
Like high-performance aircraft, waterfowl are built to fly.
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Webbed Wonders
Waterfowl use their feet for much more than just standing and swimming.
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Birds of a Feather
Plumage colors result from pigments and from the structure and reflective properties of feathers.
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Waterfowl CSI
Isotope analysis is helping researchers solve waterfowl mysteries.
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Getting Ready for the Migration
After the breeding season, ducks must molt and must build energy reserves in time for fall migration.
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The Incubation Period
For female waterfowl, hatching a nest requires a big investment of time and energy.
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The Salt Marsh Sovereig
New research is looking at the food and habitat resources that must be in place for wintering black ducks to thrive.
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Wings in Action
Differences in wing size and shape determine the flight capabilities of waterfowl.
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Waterfowl Hybrids
Crossbreeding produces rare and interesting birds but also threatens the survival of some species.
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Dressed for Success
A drake’s bright colors and a hen’s dull plumage both play crucial roles in breeding.
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Extrapair Paternity
Many waterfowl broods include offspring from more than one male.
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Fueling the Engines
Natural selection dictates that the fittest individuals (i.e., those best at survival and reproduction) dominate the population, while those less adept at making a living contribute less to the gene pool, or are eventually eliminated altogether. Fundamental to this concept is the notion that the physical and behavioral attributes of the animals we see today are well matched to the environmental challenges they face.
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How Ducks Navigate
Birds use several visual and nonvisual orientation mechanisms to navigate. Some of the visual cues include the sun, polarized light, the stars, and even landmarks.
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Birds of a Feather
Waterfowl rely on their feathers for much more than flying.
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Waterfowl Renesting
For many species of ducks, persistence is crucial to reproductive success.
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The Curious Lives of Sea Ducks
The breeding and feeding habits of these remarkable maritime birds differ greatly from those of dabbling ducks.
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Pintails: A Love-Hate Relationship with Spring Wetlands
Upon arriving in the prairie pothole country in early spring, pintails find a cold and often frozen landscape. To pintails, the spring thaw can provide a virtual paradise of spring wetlands, or a dry, barren desert.
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Waterfowl Vocalizations
Interpreting their odd assortment of whistles, grunts, quacks, honks, coos, clucks, and trills
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Waterfowl Mating Systems
Some species pair for life, whereas others invest a lot of time forming new pair bonds each year—an activity that at first glance would seem too costly and time consuming.
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Whistling Ducks
There are eight species of whistling ducks in the world, but only two-the black-bellied and fulvous whistling ducks-occur in the United States.
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Waterfowl Biology & Research
Learn more about waterfowl biology, research, identification and much more! You'll also find links to the popular "Understanding Waterfowl" features seen in past issues of DU Magazine.
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Ducklings and Goslings
Young waterfowl face many challenges but are amazingly well-adapted to their new environment.
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Banding Together
Band recoveries reported by hunters are an essential source of information for waterfowl managers.
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The Scoop on Duck Bills
These specialized feeding tools come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
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Trials of the Tundra
Once Arctic-nesting geese reach their breeding grounds, they are in a race against time.
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