Wood Duck vs Harlequin Duck

There are only two serious contenders for the most dazzling duck in western Canada. The male Wood Duck and male Harlequin Duck are easily our most decked-out waterfowl. But other than looking outrageously handsome, there are surprisingly few similarities between these two indigenous Canadian species.

Trying to describe the feathers on these fellows is like trying to describe a box of crayons. A male Woody wears iridescent emerald head feathers,

a white polka-dotted mahogany breast, and smooth almond flanks. The male Harley sports a midnight-blue body, chestnut flanks, and white patches that vary in shape from round to crescent. The females and young of both species are mottled brown, and the female Woody wears a striped, white eye patch while the Harley hen has a round, white cheek patch.

Think of these two smallish ducks as Canada’s “common cosmopolitan” and “rare recluse.”

While Woodies are pretty common in summer, Harleys are twice as rare as grizzly bears. Woodies spread out across most riparian habitats, but they prefer the slow waters of beaver ponds, creeks and oxbows.

Harleys are just the opposite. They spend the nesting season on just a handful of fast-flowing Canadian streams, though they’ll occasionally show up on lakes and rivers during migrating. Just to prove, nothing is ever black and white, Wood Ducks, not Harley as probably the majority of people call them; are very common in Stanley Park Vancouver British Columbia.