"COLOUR THE WORLD"

Wood Duck (Male) - 9 Photos

Male Wood Ducks are so striking in colour it's as if Nature opened her paint box and endowed the male ducks with all the iridescent colours at hand.

One would wonder how a duck so vibrant could be camouflaged and not be easily targeted by predators. The female Wood Duck's colouring is, of course, much more subtle and easily blends into grasses & shrubs or a nesting tree cavity.

The male is easily identified while in the water or on areas of land where there is minimal cover, but of course this type of terrain allows for easy detection of threats and a quick flight from danger. However, where there is dense vegetation, visibility would appear to be in a predator's favour because of the duck's bright vibrant colouring. But here is where Nature's genius comes into play.

Some years ago, I spotted a male Wood Duck in the midst of grasses & short shrubs, obvious to the human eye.  Aimed the camera, waited for that second for it to focus & it focused on everything except the Wood Duck. The camera & I practically had this pretend conversation.

Photographer: "Focus. Focus on the Wood Duck."

Camera: "I don't see any Wood Duck."

Photographer: "How could you not see the Wood Duck? It's right in front of us??? Argh!"

So what appears to be extremely apparent is, in fact, a clever disguise where overload actually is its own camouflage, blending into the various colours of the forest floor.

In the photos below, the Wood Duck was either on a small relatively bare peninsula or in the water, both areas where predator exposure would be minimal. So what better time to relax & have a stretch (Photo #4 through Photo #6). 

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7

PHOTO #8

PHOTO #9