Wood Duck Yearling Pair

Wood Ducks primarily eat plant material such as seeds, grasses, and fruits, as well as insects and other arthropods like beetles or snails. Waterfowl feed can be provided as a supplement in captivity.

Wood Ducks are cavity nesters, and will nest in holes in trees; in captivity, they will easily adapt to nest boxes. Mating season begins in January where unmated pairs will pair up, and breeding begins in the spring. The Wood Duck is unique in that they are the only duck in North America that regularly produces two broods in one season. A clutch will have 6-16 creamy white to tan colored eggs and will hatch in 28-30 days.

Wood Duck drakes (males) are a beautiful array of colors. Males also have red eyes and bright red bills. Females are mostly gray and browns with blue, black, and white on their wings. They have dark eyes and a light orange bill. Both have orange legs. Wood ducks weigh around 16 to 30 ounces and have a wingspan of around 27 inches. Wood Ducks typically live around 4 years in the wild. In captivity, they live until their teens, and in fact, the oldest recorded was 22 years old.