The eyes and eyelids are red. The throat and breast are brown with a white line separating it from the light brown sides and belly. The bill is yellow at the base, then red, white and black moving backwards towards the nostrils. The back and wings are a dark, glossy brown and the legs and feet are orange. These colors are brighter and most intense during the breeding season.
Females are unspectacular in comparison, lacking the coloration and long mane of the male.
However, they have a distinctive teardrop shaped white patch around the eye, tapering towards the back of the head. The head and neck are gray-brown, the body is dark brown above and light brown below. Aquatic plants such as wild rice, pond weed, and wild celery make up the bulk of its diet. The most obvious answer is that the female is then relieved of child-rearing duties, however, this doesn't explain why a female that has dumped some of her eggs in another wood duck's nest will still make her own nest and raise young. A currently accepted theory, for all animal behavior, is that each animal is driven by the need to leave offspring.