Photos: These Dope Ducks Now Live At The Central Park Zoo

11 photos

Spectacled eider: Also in the Polar Seabird exhibit, spectacled eiders are large sea ducks that are native to coastal areas in Arctic Russia and Alaska and spend most of the winter in the Bering Sea. They are classified as Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as their population is decreasing due to the changing climate in the Arctic. A first for Central Park Zoo, there are three chicks that will be on exhibit later this year.

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Pacific common eider: The Central Park Zoo is the only zoo accredited by the AZA to exhibit the Pacific common eider. These large sea ducks are known for their soft down that keeps them warm in the cold ocean waters. Pacific common eiders are the largest duck in the Northern Hemisphere and prefer to stay close to shore where they forage for mollusks and sea urchins. There are 3 chicks that are not yet on exhibit, but the adults can be seen in the Polar Seabird exhibit.

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Common eider

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Radjah shelduck: The radjah shelduck lives in the Central Park Zoo’s Tropic Zone among dozens of species of free-flying birds. Native to Australia, this bird prefers wetlands and feeds on aquatic vegetation and invertebrates. Like the pink-eared duck, they will migrate to find water and food sources, but their range is limited to the coastal tropics of northern Australia. Central Park Zoo raised five chicks this year. Two of the chicks are on exhibit in the Tisch Children’s Zoo

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Long-tailed duck: Long-tailed ducks are a species of sea duck that can be seen in the Polar Seabird Exhibit adjacent to the Penguin House. Recently classified as “Vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), it is known for its distinctive plumage and yodel-like vocalizations. The species’ native breeding range is near arctic tundra and coastal habitats.

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Long-tailed duckling

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Scaly-sided merganser: Nine scaly-sided merganser chicks have hatched this year. They are on exhibit with their parents and other adults in the Tisch Children’s Zoo and the Stork Aviary. These endangered sea ducks are native to forested river habitats of Russia, China, and Korea. Estimates indicate there are fewer than 3,000 left in the wild.

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Baer’s pochard: The IUCN has designated the Baer’s pochard as critically endangered. They can be seen on exhibit in the zoo’s Tisch Children’s Zoo and the Temperate Stream adjacent to the red pandas. Native to the wetlands of East, estimates indicate there may be fewer than 500 of these ducks remaining in the wild. Conservationists are uncertain of the causes of its dramatic decline.

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Pink-eared duck: Pink-eared ducks are nomadic in the wild, following rain to find flood waters. Pink-eared ducks display a unique zebra-like pattern in their plumage and have a shovel-like bill that helps them sift through water and sediment to find invertebrates. Central Park Zoo hatched one chick this year and is only the second zoo accredited by the AZA to successfully breed this species. The adults are on exhibit in the Tisch Children’s Zoo.

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Pink-eared duck

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Red-breasted merganser: The red-breasted merganser is a sea duck that breeds on inland lakes and streams throughout North America, Iceland, Greenland, and northern Europe and Asia. They feed mostly on live fish, and are known to forage cooperatively in groups by driving schools of fish into shallow water. This is a rare species in zoos. This summer, eight red-breasted mergansers were hatched and raised at the Central Park Zoo. The adults can be seen in the Polar Seabird Exhibit

Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

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