This volume updates and expands a portion of P. A. Johnsgard's 1975
Waterfowl of North America. It includes two species of the perching duck
tribe Cairinini: the muscovy duck and the wood duck, which forage on the
water surface but perch in trees and nest in elevated tree cavities. It
also includes the dabbling, or surface-feeding, duck tribe Anatini, that
forage on the water surface but nest on the ground. The species that
breed in North America include the familiar mallards, wigeons, pintails,
and teal. Descriptive accounts of the distributions, populations,
ecologies, social-sexual behaviors, and breeding biology of all these
species are provided. Five additional Eurasian and West Indian species
that have been reported in North America have also been included with
more abbreviated accounts. The updated bibliography contains more than
1,000 references. There are 12 maps, 31 drawings, 28 photos, and 58
anatomical or behavioral sketches.