RUDDY DUCK

SCIENTIFIC NAME:  Oxyura jamaicensis

HABITAT:  Prairie marshes, and heavily vegetated areas of North America, South America, and the West Indies.

CONSERVATION STATUS:  Least Concern

FUN FACT:  The small Ruddy duck is sometimes called the “butterball” or the “stiff-tail”.  The second nick-name often refers to the duck’s long, firm tail feathers, which it can use as a rudder in the water.

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