Types of Ducks in the United States

Ducks are a diverse group of waterfowl in the Anatidae family of birds, popular with both hunting and birding enthusiasts.

Duck Resources Dabbling Ducks Diving Ducks Sea Ducks Stiff-tailed Ducks Whistling Ducks Duck Pictures

The swans, geese and duck species that constitute the family are easily recognized by their small stout bodies, webbed feet and short bills. Males of the species usually have more colorful feather patterns than the females.

Of the seven subfamilies of Anatidae in the United States, five are ducks.

Wildlife biologists generally bundle a set of criteria to type ducks. As scientific information continues to accumulate, the taxonomy can change, along with the vocabulary.

For example, some experts use the term tribe rather than subfamily as the category name.

The links in the box on the right point to articles with pictures and descriptions of the five duck subfamilies in the United States. The list uses the common duck names, rather than the scientific names. The articles generally discuss the specific types of criteria common to the subfamily.

In terms of sheer numbers, most of the ducks comonly seen around the United States are species from the first two subfamilies, dabbling and diving ducks. Both dabbling and diving ducks are named using their feeding techniques as the primary criteria.

There are a large number of sea duck species, however, as a group, they tend to spend their time between Canada and the northern tier of the United States.

© 2006 Patricia A. Michaels