Ruddy duck
Oxyura jamaicensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is a species in the family Anatidae, order Anseriformes. Recorded adults weigh 499 g to 608.1 g and live up to 13.6 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
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Quick facts about the ruddy duck
- Weight
- 499 g – 608.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 53 cm – 62 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 13.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 23.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Aquaticsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the ruddy duck?
Where does the ruddy duck live?
Not recorded
What is 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Ruddy duck” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ruddy_duck&oldid=1381551486), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the ruddy duck endangered?
The ruddy duck is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the ruddy duck classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderAnseriformes
- familyAnatidae
- genusOxyura
- SpeciesOxyura jamaicensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)
Synonyms Anas jamaicensis, Anas rubidus, Oxyura jamaicensis jamaicensis, Oxyura jamaicensis rubida
Other names and names in other languages (68)
- Bumblebee cootEnglish
- SpiketailEnglish
- بط أمغرArabic
- Aneda de ChamaicaAragonese
- balbasía roxaAsturian
- Американска тръноопашата потапницаBulgarian
- Piklost rousBreton
- Ànec de jamaicaCatalan
- malvasia de JamaicaCatalan
- kachnice kaštanováCzech
- Hwyaid CochWelsh
- hwyaden gochWelsh
- Amerikansk skarveandDanish
- Sorthovedet SkarveandDanish
- SchwarzkopfruderenteGerman
- Schwarzkopf-RuderenteGerman
- Αμερικανικό ΚεφαλούδιGreek
- jamajka anasoEsperanto
- Pato tepalcateSpanish
- Malvasía canelaSpanish
- Malvasía RojizaSpanish
- Pato CariblancoSpanish
- Pato EspinosoSpanish
- Pato Malvasia de Cara BlancaSpanish
- Pato Rana NorteamericanoSpanish
- Pato RojizoSpanish
- Pato zambullidor grandeSpanish
- valgepõsk-händpartEstonian
- Ahate herdoiltsuaBasque
- kuparisorsaFinnish
- tonut skarvsontFaroese
- Érismature rousseFrench
- Lacha RuaIrish
- Lacha IamácachIrish
- Lachra ruaIrish
- Malvasía americanaGalician
- Thunnag ruyManx
- Kanna plonjonHaitian Creole
- צחראש אדמוניHebrew
- crnoglava čakoraCroatian
- halcsontfarkú réceHungarian
- HróköndIcelandic
- Gobbo della GiamaicaItalian
- Gobbo rugginoso americanoItalian
- アカオタテガモJapanese
- Amerikinė stačiauodegėLithuanian
- baltaskruostė stačiauodegėLithuanian
- Jamaikas zilknābisLatvian
- rosse stekelstaartDutch
- stivhaleandNorwegian Nynorsk
- sterniczka jamajskaPolish
- pato-rabo-alçado-americanoPortuguese
- pato-de-rabo-alçado-americanoPortuguese
- американская савкаRussian
- VeaikegahperfiehtatNorthern Sami
- veaikegahperfiehtaNorthern Sami
- potápnica bielolícaSlovak
- belolicna trdorepkaSlovenian
- belolična trdorepkaSlovenian
- Crnoglava plavokljuna patkaSerbian
- Amerikansk kopparandSwedish
- Amerika DikkuyruğuTurkish
- kara başlı dikkuyrukTurkish
- Савка ямайськаUkrainian
- савка американськаUkrainian
- ямайська савкаUkrainian
- 棕硬尾鴨Chinese
- 棕硬尾鸭Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the ruddy duck
Other species in the same genus Oxyura.
White-headed duck
Oxyura leucocephala
Lake duck
Oxyura vittata
Blue-billed duck
Oxyura australis
Maccoa duck
Oxyura maccoa
Andean duck
Oxyura ferruginea
CompareRuddy duck vs White-headed duckRuddy duck vs Lake duckRuddy duck vs Blue-billed duckRuddy duck vs Maccoa duck
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the ruddy duck?
An adult ruddy duck weighs 499 g – 608.1 g and has a wingspan of 53 cm – 62 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the ruddy duck endangered?
The ruddy duck is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the ruddy duck live?
The ruddy duck has a recorded lifespan of 13.6 years.
What kind of animal is the ruddy duck?
The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) belongs to the family Anatidae in the order Anseriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-duck
“Ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-duck.
@misc{ruddy_duck_2026,
title = {Ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/ruddy-duck},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}