Day 90: Masked Duck

When I first spotted Masked Ducks at a lagoon in southwest Puerto Rico, I didn't know what I had found. "Jared, come look at these little ducklings!" I had said. "You can barely see them, they're all hiding in the marsh!"

Turns out, they were not ducklings, but rather the tiny stiff-tailed Masked Duck. They were pretty far away, which was disappointing, but it was still great to see such an interesting little bird.

Lots of little Masked Ducks hiding in the weeds...

Masked Ducks can be found from Mexico to South America and the Caribbean. On the rare occassion, they will be reported as a vagrant in the southernmost U.S. They are usually very secretive, which was evident to us, as they were hiding in the marsh plants. Masked Ducks feed by diving for aquatic plants, insects, and crustaceans.

Here's a photo of a Masked Duck up close, which unfortunately isn't mine (and it's also in breeding plumage, which is different from the birds that we saw):

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