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Bird

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

A winter visitor to Alabama, found in all 67 counties and 12 habitats.

Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
12

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
12
Habitat models
Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 12

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 12

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
WinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

In the Jungle, Florida
WinterSouthern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida
WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"
WinterOpen Water (Fresh)Martin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900), a neighboring state.Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Fort George Island, Florida
WinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Shown: Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Fort George Island, Florida, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Blue Spring, Florida
WinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha
WinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

WinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Winter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

WinterSouth-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterMississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh
Other habitats in its models (45)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (33)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Winter.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Winter.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Winter.
  • South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
Northeast (4)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Winter.
Land cover and other classes (8)
  • Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

  • Winter: does not nest here, in all 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 205

Plant genera in its diet records (28)
  • Cyperus Seeds and roots. 6 diet records. 44 native plants in Alabama
  • Scirpus Seeds. 6 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Eleocharis 5 diet records. 37 native plants in Alabama
  • Potamogeton Seeds. 5 diet records. 10 native plants in Alabama
  • Ceratophyllum Seeds. 4 diet records. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Lachnanthes Seeds and roots. 4 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Myriophyllum Seeds. 4 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Polygonum Seeds. 4 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Chara Other parts. 3 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Echinochloa Seeds. 3 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Phalaris Seeds. 3 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Bolboschoenus Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Brasenia 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Nymphaea Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Panicum Seeds. 2 diet records. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Persicaria Seeds. 2 diet records. 11 native plants in Alabama
  • Pinus 2 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Ruppia 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Sparganium Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Stuckenia Roots. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Zea Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Boehmeria 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Chenopodium Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Hypericum 1 diet record. 35 native plants in Alabama
  • Lemna Leaves. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Leptochloa Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Morella 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Sagittaria Roots. 1 diet record. 12 native plants in Alabama

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 104

Plants 418

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Alabama

Swamps

Birds 102

Plants 327

All of swamps in Alabama

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 118

Plants 134

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Alabama

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources