Wood Duck

The next position on the list of the most beautiful birds in the world is the wood duck. North America is home to the perching duck species known as the wood duck or Carolina duck (Aix sponsa). One of the most vivid North American waterfowl is the drake wood duck. The adult male has spectacular multicolored iridescent plumage, red eyes, and a characteristic white flair along the neck, in addition to having red eyes. The less colorful female has a whitish neck and a white eye-ring. The heads of both adults are crested.

Although the birds move south for the winter, they are year-round inhabitants in some of their southern areas. They spend the winter close to the Atlantic Coast in the southern United States. In the Pacific Flyway, non-migratory wood ducks make up 75% of the total population. They are regularly reported in Great Britain as escapees because of their striking plumage, and populations have in the past briefly established themselves in Surrey. However, they are not thought to be self-sustaining in the manner of the similarly related mandarin duck.

Wood ducks graze on land or dabble (feed from the surface rather than plunging underwater). They are omnivores because they mostly consume berries, acorns, and seeds as well as insects.