Ruddy duck: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the ruddy duck lives – recorded in 25 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Oxyura jamaicensis
Group	Ducks, geese & swans
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	25 countries
Continents	Europe, North America
Mass	590 g (male organism, adult weight); 499 g (female organism, adult weight)
Class	Bird
Order	Anseriformes
Family	Anatidae

Where does the ruddy duck live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the ruddy duck in 25 countries and territories across Europe and North America. Wikidata gives its range as: Africa, South America. In Belgium, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a ruddy duck?

Wikidata records the following for the ruddy duck: mass 590 g (male organism, adult weight); 499 g (female organism, adult weight).

Is the ruddy duck endangered?

The ruddy duck’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the ruddy duck?

The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is a bird in the order Anseriformes and the family Anatidae, genus Oxyura. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the ruddy duck

The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is a species of duck, one of six extant species of stiff-tailed duck (genus Oxyura). In the 1940s, the ruddy duck was introduced to the United Kingdom, where it established a population. Outside the Americas, the ruddy duck is considered a highly invasive species, prompting many countries to initiate culling projects to eradicate it from the native ecosystem.

The generic name is derived from Ancient Greek oxus meaning "sharp", and oura meaning "tail". The specific name jamaicensis means "from Jamaica". The ruddy duck has also been nicknamed "butterball", a term used to describe an individual that is somewhat fat, due to its short and stout stature making activities like flying and walking upright awkward.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Ruddy duck (revision 1380703412), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q647461 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).