Ring-necked Duck Drake

“Ring-billed Duck” may be a better name for this species, as its neck ring is usually only visible at close range. The white ring on the bill is a prominent field mark.

Ring-necked Duck with visible neck ring (Aythya collaris, Fuligule à collier, RNDU) from my Better than Bosque workshop. Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, San Antonio, New Mexico, USA. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens with Sony FE 2X Teleconverter @1,200mm ISO 1,600, f/8 @ 1/3,200s. Full frame image. Manual exposure.

Mallard drake in flight dorsal view

A drake Mallard offers a dorsal view while in flight during my Better than Bosque workshop in New Mexico last December.

Migrating mallards have been clocked flying at 88.5 kilometres per hour (55 miles per hour), slightly faster than the average waterfowl. While they usually cruise at an altitude of less than 10,000 feet, they can get much higher. In 1962, a mallard was struck by a commercial airliner at 21,000 feet—a record altitude for a bird-aircraft collision at the time.