Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Birds of North Carolina: Wood Duck  (Carolina Bird Club)
Wood duck numbers seem to have been on the slow increase, owing to an increase in wood duck nest boxes erected for the birds and to an increase in beaver ponds, a primary habitat.

North Carolina Wildlife Profile: Wood Duck  (N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission)
The wood duck is most often found in wooded swamps, beaver ponds, freshwater marshes, and along streams and rivers near forests. It is one of seven North American ducks that regularly nest in natural cavities, particularly those found in trees.

Working with Wildlife: Wood Duck (NC State Cooperative Extension)
The diet of the wood duck includes hard and soft mast, insects, other aquatic invertebrates (mollusks, snails), and aquatic plants and seeds. Mast is the fruit of trees and shrubs, including acorns, nuts, and berries. Wood ducks feed in and around wetlands, as well as in uplands, sometimes considerable distances from open water.

Wood Duck Call (Bird Sounds)
Hear the call of the wood duck.

Audubon Guide to North American Birds: Wood Duck (Audubon)
Wood ducks prefer wooded swamps, rivers and ponds. They favor shallow inland lakes, ponds, slow-moving rivers, swamps, mainly those surrounded by deciduous or mixed woodland.

Wildlife Habitat Management Institute: Wood Duck (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The wood duck is considered by many bird watchers to be North America’s most colorful waterfowl species. Its scientific name, Aix sponsa, translates into “waterbird in bridal dress.”

Wildlife Management Guide: Wood Duck (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources)
Wood ducks need brushy or weedy borders for rearing young and swampy areas for roosting. Their preferred habitat is mast producing hardwoods bordering streams and permanent freshwater lakes, but they will also use swamp habitat dominated by cypress and tupelo gum.