Ruddy duck

Ruddy duck
Male
Female
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Oxyura
Species:	O. jamaicensis
Binomial name
Oxyura jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1789)
Extant, breeding   Extant, resident   Extant, passage   Extant, non-breeding   Extant & Introduced (resident)   Probably extinct
Synonyms
Erismatura jamaicensis

The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is one duck of six species within the stiff-tailed ducks (Oxyura). They occupy heavily vegetated habitats in North and South America as well as the British Isles, France and Spain. Ruddy ducks were introduced to the United Kingdom in the 1940s where they have since established a growing population. Outside the Americas, ruddy ducks are considered a highly invasive species, prompting many countries to initiate culling projects to eradicate them from the native ecosystem.

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek oxus, "sharp", and oura, "tail", and jamaicensis is "from Jamaica". Ruddy ducks have also been nicknamed “butterball”, a term used to describe an individual who is somewhat fat, due to their short and stout stature making activities like flying and walking upright awkward.^[2]