Duck of the Week: Laysan Duck

This Hawaiian duck survives today on only Laysan Island and two nearby atolls, making it the rarest duck in the northern hemisphere.

Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, the Laysan Duck is a beautiful bird that can be identified by its dark chocolate plumage and distinctive white eye ring. A blue-green stripe on its wings provides its alternative name, the Laysan teal.

Male and female Laysan ducks at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by John Klavitter/FWS.

Laysan Ducks once made the entire Hawaiian archipelago their home, but today survive only on Laysan Island and two atolls in the chain. Listed as endangered since 1967, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service introduced a recovery plan for these ducks in 1982, which later received a crucial revision in 2004. At that time (2004-2005), forty-two members of the species were translocated from Laysan Island to Midway Atoll to increase their chances of survival across multiple locations. Laysan Ducks were also introduced to Kure Atoll in 2014.

This map shows the current range of the Laysan Duck in the Hawaiian archipelago. Image by Lars Falkdalen Lindahl. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Laysan Ducks aren’t big on using their wings to move around in the air, but they love to run on land. Using this skill, they will feed on brine flies by running through a swarm with their mouths open. They supplement this diet by dabbling for insects and small vegetation in lake shallows.

Laysan Ducks waddling through and feeding on a swarm of brine flies, June 1969. Photo by Dr. James P. McVey, NOAA Sea Grant Program.

There is hope for the survival of the Laysan Duck, but ongoing care and monitoring are still required to make sure their extinction doesn’t become imminent and this species is once again able to thrive. The hope is that this species can be upgraded from endangered to threatened in the near future, and then continue to improve from there.

Laysan Ducks have become one of my favorite ducks and their full story is extremely fascinating. If you would like to read more about them, here are a few great resources:

Endangered Laysan Ducks Have a New Home

Laysan Duck - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Laysan Duck Recovery Plan