Peculiar duck names

Sometimes the name given a duck seems rather odd. 

This is the Ring-necked Duck, female left, male right. If one were to pick a name based upon a striking appearance, the white ring around the male’s bill would seem a good choice. But no, the duck is named for the rarely visible tawny ring at the base of the male’s neck. 

An outstanding feature of the Northern Shoveler is its enormous bill. The duck sweeps the bill through the surface waters of ponds to feed on invertebrates and seeds. It doesn’t seem to shovel the water, at least as we would normally use the term, nor does the bill look like a shovel — at least when seen from the side. Here three males and one (obscured) female fly by.

When seen from above or below, the spreading of the bill’s end makes the word, shovel, more apt, as is another name for the bird, a spoonbill.