Behavior of Ruddy Duck Broods in Utah

Abstract This study reports on the brood-related behavior of Ruddy Ducks at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Farmington, Utah. Drake accompaniment of hens and broods apparently resulted from a residual mate attraction rather than from a paternal relationship with the brood. Hen Ruddy Ducks accomplished inter- and intraspecific brood defense by means of agonistic displays and actual aggression. Communication between hen and brood was accomplished through visual and, occasionally, auditory signals. Calls were used to regroup ducklings, whereas visual displays were used to stimulate specific brood response. Brood behavior varied according to the age of the ducklings and the site occupied.

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Parasitic Egg Laying in Redheads and Ruddy Ducks in Utah: Incidence and Success

The Auk ◽

10.1093/auk/100.3.717 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 100 (3) ◽

pp. 717-725 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

David E. Joyner

Keyword(s):

North American ◽

Egg Laying ◽

Water Levels ◽

Success Rates ◽

Unknown Number ◽

Aythya Americana ◽

Management Area ◽

Egg Parasitism ◽

Ruddy Ducks ◽

Ruddy Duck

Abstract North American Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) and Redheads (Aythya americana) lay eggs parasitically in other waterfowl nests. Interspecific egg parasitism at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area (WMA), Utah during 1972-1974 affected 290 (36%) of 809 duck nests. Redheads deposited 812 eggs into 264 nests of other species, whereas Ruddy Ducks deposited 146 eggs into 62 nests. Of 620 Redhead eggs deposited interspecifically and for which success rates were known, 21% hatched, compared with 24% of 146 Ruddy Duck eggs. Forty-three percent of the Redheads and 7% of the Ruddy Ducks produced on the study site hatched from eggs deposited interspecifically. An unknown number of Redhead and Ruddy ducklings hatched from eggs deposited intraspecifically. Rates of egg parasitism in Redheads and Ruddy Ducks did not increase in response to severe fluctuations in water levels affecting habitat used by nesting waterfowl, nor was a lack of suitable nesting cover associated with Redhead or Ruddy Duck parasitism. These results counter the contention that parasitic tendencies in the Redhead, and perhaps the Ruddy Duck, are environmentally induced.

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Summer food and feeding of the ruddy duck in Manitoba

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z73-183 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 51 (12) ◽

pp. 1293-1297 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

W. R. Siegfried

Keyword(s):

Feeding Habits ◽

Adult Males ◽

Female Adult ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Food And Feeding ◽

Animal Material ◽

Males And Females ◽

Ruddy Ducks ◽

Ruddy Duck ◽

Main Food Item

The food and feeding habits of adult and juvenile ruddy ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) in southwestern Manitoba were studied during June–August 1971. Animal material predominated in the diets of the birds. The basic diets of adult males and females, as well as ducklings of all ages, were similar. Larval and pupal midges (Tendipedidae), especially Chironomus, constituted the main food item. The quantity of grit in the gizzards increased with the age of the ducklings. There was no significant difference between the average quantities of grit retained by male and female adult birds. Ruddy ducks, of all ages, forage almost exclusively by diving and straining food organisms from the soft muddy ooze on the bottoms of ponds. Foraging ruddy ducks appear to select areas relatively rich in midge larvae.

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The Use of Real-Time Visual Displays of Speech in the Training of a Profoundly Deaf, Nonspeaking Child: A Case Report

Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders ◽

10.1044/jshd.3603.397 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 397-409 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Rachel E. Stark

Keyword(s):

Case Report ◽

Real Time ◽

Speech Production ◽

Behavior Problem ◽

Deaf Children ◽

Developmental Sequence ◽

Visual Displays ◽

Individual Instruction ◽

Academic Record ◽

Extract Information

Real-time amplitude contour and spectral displays were used in teaching speech production skills to a profoundly deaf, nonspeaking boy. This child had a visual attention problem, a behavior problem, and a poor academic record. In individual instruction, he was first taught to produce features of speech, for example, friction, nasal, and stop, which are present in vocalizations of 6- to 9-month-old infants, and then to combine these features in syllables and words. He made progress in speech, although sign language and finger spelling were taught at the same time. Speech production skills were retained after instruction was terminated. The results suggest that deaf children are able to extract information about the features of speech from visual displays, and that a developmental sequence should be followed as far as possible in teaching speech production skills to them.

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