The North American continent, at the time of its discovery and early settlement, had a waterfowl population which was one of its many wonders. So far as the evidence shows, no equal area of the earth’s surface ever supported such vast numbers of so many different ducks and geese, and this situation persisted to a time within the memory of living men. Long after the end of early settlement on this continent, hunting was free and harvest unlimited. But as the advancing tide of settlement reached into the north-central prairie states and provinces in the final years of the Nineteenth Century, radical changes began. From that time on North American waterfowl habitat began to deteriorate. Literally millions of acres of former nesting ground in the north have now been drained and put to the plow. South of the breeding range, not only agriculture, but industrialization and urbanization also have steadily reduced available resting and wintering grounds.

The progressive decline in waterfowl numbers which followed these changes in land use led eventually to the scientific management of waterfowl. Spring shooting and market hunting were abolished in the second decade of this century. Ten years later the federal government undertook detailed regulation of migratory waterfowl so the annual harvest could be made proportional to the annual production. This was accomplished through collective effort by State, Provincial and Federal agencies of Canada, Mexico and the United States to obtain scientific information. In keeping with biological principles, most of the restrictions on bag limit and means of taking have been used with some flexibility.

Throughout the decline of all waterfowl populations some species have been underharvested. These species have declined in about the same proportion as those species on which the bulk of the harvest occurred. The Central Flyway Council feels that a refinement in waterfowl management is possible by directing hunting pressure on these previously underharvested species. This goal can only be accomplished through a knowledge of species identification by the waterfowl hunter. This booklet is a start in that direction.

In recent years most waterfowl populations have made encouraging recoveries from the low point of the early 1930’s, when disastrous drouths, drainage and changing land use patterns took their toll. Still drainage continues, and industrialization is further reducing the habitat. Hunting continues as a major sport, however, maximum utilization of all species must be accomplished if hunting is to be fostered at a reasonable level of freedom and enjoyment.

The very future of duck hunting depends upon a more effective partnership between regulatory agencies and the many thousands of gunners whom they serve. The federal agency is charged by treaty and law with husbandry of the waterfowl resource. The State agencies assist in the responsibility. However, they need the help of all sportsmen, and particularly they need the understanding help of waterfowlers who know their birds and who keep abreast of current plans for management. To foster this essential cooperation between agencies and gunners is a primary purpose of this booklet.

Identification

Identification of birds in the field, and particularly on the wing, as ducks and geese are usually seen over decoys, is easier than appears at first try. The trick is to note, in addition to shape and approximate size, the general arrangement of light and dark areas in the plumage, for nearly every species has its own distinctive pattern. With practice, the eye can be trained to pick out this pattern at a glance, and within a short time recognition becomes automatic. The illustrations which follow, one for each important species of Central Flyway waterfowl, make use of this practice of “pattern recognition” in the two or more flying birds at the top of the page. Actually in many cases recognition by flight pattern and flight characteristics will soon become evident.

In each drawing of ducks the flying female leads, with the drake following, for this is the usual order in a mated pair during winter, and spring. On the lower part of each page are shown enlarged heads, adult male on the left, female on the right, with an immature head added when the difference is substantial, or with certain details which further aid identification when the bird is in hand. All ducks, both flying pairs and heads, are drawn in direct proportion to each other, but geese, because of their larger size, are reduced one third from the duck proportion.

Drawings of geese show only a single enlarged head on each plate because male and female geese are alike in color pattern. Finally, some birds which are not “waterfowl” in the strict sense of the word, but are nevertheless often seen, are shown in the last few illustrations. Some of them (loon, grebe, and cormorant), although protected at all times, are included because they are often mistakenly shot for waterfowl. Others (rails, coot, and snipes) are included because they occupy wet-land habitat along with ducks.

Individual Problems

Although “pattern recognition” simplifies the problem of identification for the waterfowler, there are still several complications to be considered. Of these, the most troublesome by far is the matter of moults. The adult drakes of most species of ducks, very soon after the hens begin to incubate eggs, moult the bright body-feathers of their breeding dress and assume an “eclipse” plumage which resembles the year-round coloration of the female. This dull plumage, serving as a protective factor during the wing-moult which follows, is retained until the new flight feathers are fully developed. By September a second body-moult is under way by which these old drakes assume the bright courting plumage of late fall and winter. During the same period, the young males of the year, whose juvenile plumage likewise resembles the female dress, are also assuming the adult plumage. Following December 1 most difficulties of identification by reason of the moult are resolved, but in early fall the hunter may be puzzled by some of the transition plumages noted on birds in his bag. Identification during this period may appear extremely difficult, but it is well to remember that wing patterns remain virtually unchanged regardless of stage of the moult.

The remaining problems of identification require only brief mention for they appear but rarely. In the first place, this booklet includes all species of ducks and geese which occur in numbers in any part of the Central Flyway, but omits others which may be occasional visitors. Second, hybrids are rather frequent among waterfowl, and some are extremely puzzling. In such special cases as these your local wildlife manager or biologist may be able to help.

The following publications contain further information for the hunter interested in additional facts of natural history, distribution and description:

Kortright, “Ducks, Geese and Swans of North America”

Peterson, “A Field Guide to the Birds”

Pough, “Audubon Water Bird Guide”