Wood duck
Aix sponsa
- Taxon: Anseriformes, Anatidae
- Range: Wood ducks are common year-round in the Southeastern United States and during summer and autumn throughout the Eastern United States and Canada. Wood ducks breed in most states east of the Rocky Mountains and throughout the Pacific Northwest, but they migrate from northern states and provinces to southern areas during early fall.
- Status: Not listed, low concern – Although breeding population estimates are not available for wood ducks based on breeding surveys, perhaps as many as 3 million breeding pairs exist across North America.
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Wildlife
Wood duck
Habitat
True to their name, wood ducks thrive in forested wetlands such as bottomland forests, swamps, freshwater marshes, streams, creeks, and beaver ponds. Wood ducks nest primarily in tree cavities, which are hollow areas in living and dead trees.

Diet
Acorns are the primary winter food of choice, but the ducks also visit agricultural fields to feed on waste grain. Wood ducks will consume the seeds of bald cypress, hickory, gum, buttonbush, and other species. During summer and fall, wood ducks feed on a variety of seeds, invertebrates, and plants in shallow areas of lakes and wetlands.

Subject matter expert
- Heath Hagy, Waterfowl Ecologist, mailto:heath_hagy@fws.gov
Designated critical habitat
This species is not listed as under the Endangered Species Act; there is no critical habitat designated.
Federal Register notices
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