Duck (Common Shoveler)

Common Shoveler’s most distinctive feature is its large spoon shaped beak with soft edges, used to filter water for small plants and animals. You can see them swimming in tight circles as they make whirlpools to draw food up from the bottom of ponds.

 

The male in breeding plumage has bright wings, a bright iridescent-green head with a yellow eye, bold white breast, and chestnut sides. Females, juveniles, and males in eclipse plumage (from May through August) are mottled brown with orange legs and a green-black iridescent speculum with a blue patch on the forewing.

Photographed at Flamingo Hotel Aviary in Las Vegas, NV

Merganser (Hooded)

Hooded mergansers are one of the most secretive ducks in North America. A small fish-eating duck of wooded ponds, the Hooded Merganser nests in holes in trees. It is frequently seen on shallow waters where its only waterfowl companion is the Wood Duck.

Highly weary of humans and their activity and will stay clear. The Hooded is the smallest of the three species of mergansers. When in the water it rides so low that often you can only see its head.

There is two major populations - one that breeds in central B.C. and the other in central Ontario and Quebec to the forest of Minnesota.

 

Photographed at Flamingo Hotel Aviary, Las Vegas, NV

Duck (Wood)

Considered by many to be the most beautiful of North American waterfowl, the wood duck is a perching duck that normally nests in cavities in trees.

Wood ducks are medium-sized perching ducks. Breeding males have an iridescent green and white crested head with red eyes, red and white bill, chestnut breast, golden flanks and iridescent back.
Female is a drab version of the male, but is considered striking compared to other duck hens.

 

Wood ducks breed in much of southern Canada and the eastern U.S., but is largely absent from U.S. Prairies, Great Plains and southwest. Winter range includes extreme southern Ontario.

Photographed at Animal Kingdom, Orlando, FL

and the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. NV

Duck (Ringed Teal)

A small South American wild duck, the Ringed Teal is popular with waterfowl collectors. It is a pretty little bird, easy to care for and it gets along well in a mixed collection. Unlike most waterfowl, the drake lacks an eclipse plumage and retains his colourful plumage year-round. This is a result of its tropical habitat and prolonged breeding season.

Fast and agile flyers, Ringed Teal enjoy perching in trees well off the ground. They are cavity nesters, so in captivity a raised nest box should be provided. Clutches consist of 5 to 12 whitish eggs and incubation is variously reported to take from 23 to 26 days. It is also stated that they may pair-bond, at least in captivity, with the male helping to care for the brood.



Photographed at Flamingo Hotel Aviary, Las Vegas, NV

Swan (Australian Black)

These swans are native to most of Australia, including Tasmania. Introduced populations are thriving in New Zealand and there are some free-living birds in Sweden.

The Blacks are the most social of the swans and during the breeding season will often nest in loose colonies. Most other swans will not tolerate other pairs anywhere near their nests.

Their greyish-black plumage is interrupted only by the white flight feathers. The parents often carry the young cygnets on their backs when they are swimming.

The common name ‘Swan’ is a gender neutral term, but ‘cob’ for a male and ‘pen’ for a female are also used, as is ‘cygnet’ for the young.

Photographed at Flamingo Hotel Aviary, Las Vegas, NV

Ibis (Sacred)

Sacred Ibises are common in East Africa and are found throughout Africa south of the Sahara. They frequent marshes, swamps, riverbanks, pastures and ploughed fields.

They were once common along the Nile River, but have been absent from Egypt for over a hundred years. The ancient Egyptians believed that their god Thoth sometimes came to earth in the form of a Sacred Ibis.

They are white with black plumes that form a loose net across the back, closed wings and tail. Legs and feet are black. When this ibis flies, bare patches of skin under the wings and at the sides of the breasts show as scarlet.

The head and neck are bare and covered with black, scaly skin once the bird is about 2 years old. Until then they are feathered white, mottled with black
Photographed at Flamingo Hotel Aviary, Las Vegas, NV

Swan (Black Necked)

These beautiful birds are native to southern South America. The sexes are similar in plumage.

As indicated by its name, this is a large white swan with a black neck. A red knob or carbuncle at the base of the upper mandible is enlarged in males at breeding season. The black-necked swan has short wings, but still is a fast flyer.

They flock most of the year but are quite territorial when breeding. The males will chase other waterfowl, and almost anything else, from the vicinity of the nest. Unlike other swans, the nest is a small and poorly constructed one. Incubation lasts 36 days until the clutch of 4-5 hatches. The cygnets spend much of their time on the parents' back when not feeding.

Photographed at Flamingo Hotel Aviary, Las Vegas, NV

Dove (Rock) Pigeon

A common sight in urban areas throughout the world, the Rock Pigeon was introduced into North America in the early 1600s. City buildings and their window ledges mimic the rocky cliffs used by wild pigeons.

There may be as many as 28 pigeon color types, called "morphs. Pigeons also have colourful neck feathers. These iridescent green, yellow, and purple feathers are called "hackle." Adult males and females look alike, but a male’s hackle is more iridescent than a female’s.

People raise all kinds of fancy pigeons. The breeds have names, such as rollers, tumblers, and fantails, which reflect the way the birds fly or the way they look. Sometimes, people take their fancy pigeons to compete in shows.

Photographed in the wild, Toronto, ON