We’ve been keeping tabs on this vulnerable male Wood Duck during the summer. He still looks like a recruit at Marine boot camp, but he flew a short distance yesterday. He and his brothers have lost their outrageously colored and iridescent full-dress uniforms during their yearly full feather molt.
Brooklin, Maine, 08/26/21
It’s called the males’ “eclipse phase,” apparently because it’s like a dark shadow passing over their once brilliantly colored heads and bodies. These birds can’t fly during part of this phase and their drab coloration is thought to have evolved as camouflage during their endangerment. (Evolution has not yet been able to darken their Maraschino Cherry eyes, though.)
When the male Wood Ducks regrow their coats and helmets with sparkling new feathers next month or in early October, they’ll regain their ability to attract females and partner with them over the winter and during spring. Here’s a preview:
Brooklin, Maine, 10/11/17
(Brooklin, Maine)