His chest, a rich chestnut, is separated from his golden-yellow sides by vertical bars of white and black. The hen's plumage is drab, a combination of gray, white, and brown. She has a small head crest and a circle of white surrounding each eve. Wood ducks do not quack. The drake whistles an ascending, finch-like twee twee .
Woodies are excellent swimmers and fast, agile fliers.
The wood duck feeds along shores of woodland streams and ponds. A dabbler, it tips its head into shallow water and probes the bottom for vegetative parts and seeds of pondweeds, wild rice, and water lilies. Insects and spiders comprise about 10 percent of the adult's diet, while the duckling eats a larger percentage of these high-protein animal foods. In winter, wood ducks may turn to waste corn if natural foods are scarce. Breeding occurs in late March and April, extending into May in the north.