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Bird

Ruddy Duck

Oxyura jamaicensis

A winter visitor to Alabama, found in all 67 counties and 7 habitats.

Here
Winter and on migration
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
7

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Winter and on migration
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
7
Habitat models
Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Alabama 7

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

1 of 7

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 tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida"
WinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. Shown: San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, Florida, a neighboring state.On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. 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.

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.

WinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterMississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh
Other habitats in its models (25)

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

Elsewhere in the South (12)
  • 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.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Winter.
Northeast (2)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
Land cover and other classes (11)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Winter.
  • Open Water (Aquaculture) 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

  • Migratory: does not nest here, in 27 of 67 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in 54 of 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 23

Plant genera in its diet records (4)
  • Crassula 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Polygonum Seeds. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Potamogeton Seeds. 1 diet record. 10 native plants in Alabama
  • Scirpus Seeds. 1 diet record. 8 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.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 115

Plants 134

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Alabama

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Birds 134

Plants 38

All of disturbed and introduced wetlands in Alabama

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 88

Plants 418

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Alabama

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources