Skin specimen of Wood Duck.
Ornithology Collection #0071 - Department of Biological Sciences.
Male Wood Duck, State Waterfowl of Mississippi.
STATE WATERFOWL
WOOD DUCK
(Aix sponsa)
Designated as State Waterfowl in 1974.
Wood duck nests can be found in trees at heights up to fifty feet above ground. Their young must jump from these high nests to reach the ground before they fledge (learn to fly). Wood ducks are one of the few duck species that have claws on their webbed feet, to help them perch in tree branches. They are common residents in Mississippi ponds, marshes, creeks and rivers.