The Ring-necked Duck is the North American relation of the Eurasian Tufted Duck. The male looks similar to the Tufted but has a barely perceptible brown ring around his neck, a more angular head and a dark bill with a light blue line across it near the tip. The female looks similar to the Tufted but with a white eye-ring, brown eye, white scaup-like base of beak, angular head and the same dark bill with light blue stripe across.

Female Ring-necked Duck

Strange-looking female Ring-necked Duck, possibly with some hybridisation, or could be a juvenile.

The strange-looking Ring-necked Duck was the constant companion of the (also American and hybrid) Canvasback drake; they seemed smitten.