Suddenly, not more than a few feet away, a bird bolts straight up from the marsh into the air. It is the elusive black duck. Not black at all, its plumage is predominately a dark, mottled brown. The sooty color makes this duck appear black against the sky. Hens and drakes are almost identical in appearance, with the males being slightly darker.
Black ducks are closely related to mallards and are often mistaken for females of that species.
The black duck is one of North America's wariest waterfowl, and few surpass it in prestige among hunters throughout the Mississippi and Atlantic Flyways. Primarily a species of eastern North America, the black duck is found east of the Great Plains and south of the tundra. Black ducks migrate through the Chesapeake Bay region, as well as overwinter and breed here. They use a variety of habitats and feed on a variety of plants and animals. Black ducks eat invertebrates and seeds in bottomland hardwoods.