Bird of the Week – Ring-necked Duck

Sometimes WC thinks that birds are deliberately named in a way to confuse birders. This is one of the reasons. WC means, what the heck? Yes, there is an extremely faint, rarely visible ring around the bird’s neck. But thre’s a blinding white, extremely obvious white ring around the bill. Why not Ring-Billed Duck? Sigh. This is an uncommon duck in Interior Alaska; the range maps doesn’t even show the species in the state. But it is, and they do breed here. Despite appearances, this is a diving duck, not a dabbler like a Mallard. The gold eye, double white…