the salt marshes and ocean much more than mallards.

Flight is swift, usually in small flocks.

White wing lining in contrast to very dark body plumage is a good
identification clue.

The hen's _quack_ and the drake's _kwek-kwek_ are duplicates of the
mallards.

Diving Ducks

Diving ducks frequent the larger, deeper lakes and rivers, and coastal
bays and inlets.

The colored wing patches of these birds lack the brilliance of the
speculums of puddle ducks. Since many of them have short tails, their
huge, paddle feet may be used as rudders in flight, and are often
visible on flying birds. When launching into flight, most of this group
patter along the water before becoming airborne.

They feed by diving, often to considerable depths. To escape danger,
they can travel great distances underwater, emerging only enough to show
their head before submerging again.

Their diets of fish, shellfish, mollusks, and aquatic plants make them
second choice, as a group, for sportsmen. Canvasbacks and redheads
fattened on eel grass or wild celery are notable exceptions.

Since their wings are smaller in proportion to the size and weight of
their bodies, they have a more rapid wingbeat than puddle ducks.

Canvasback

Length--22 in.
Weight--3 lbs.

Normally late to start south, canvasbacks migrate in lines and irregular
V's.

In feeding areas, compact flocks fly in indefinite formations. Their
wingbeat is rapid and noisy; their speed is the swiftest of all our
ducks.

Feeding behavior is highly variable. In some areas they feed at night
and spend the day rafted up in open waters; in other areas they feed
inshore mornings and evenings.

On the water, body size and head shape distinguish them from scaups and
redheads.

Drakes _croak_, _peep_, and _growl_; hens have a mallard-like _quack_.

Redheads

Length--20 in.
Weight--2-1/2 lbs.

Range coast to coast, with the largest numbers in the Central Flyway.
Migratory flocks travel in V's; move in irregular formations over
feeding areas. Often found associating with canvasback.

In the air, they give the impression of always being in a hurry.

Usually spend the day in large rafts in deep water; feed morning and
evening in shallower sections.

Drakes _purr_ and _meow_; hens have a loud _squak_, higher than a hen
mallard's.

Ringneck

Length--17 in.
Weight--2-1/2 lbs.

Similar in appearance to scaups, but more often found in fresh