Know your ducks

Field marks for drakes, hens and birds in flight, look-alikes, photos, calls where we have a recording we’re allowed to use, and each state’s 2026-27 bag limit for every species. Limits come from the official Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas regulations and show the date we last checked them.

Dabbling ducks

Puddle ducks that feed at the surface and spring straight up when flushed. The core of the Mid-South bag.

MallardGreen head, white neck ring, curled black tail feathers. The bird of the flooded timber.Wood duckCrested, boldly patterned and fast through the trees. Year-round in the brakes.GadwallA plain gray duck with a black rear end and a white wing patch in flight.Green-winged tealOur smallest dabbler. Fast, twisting flocks and a green wing patch.Blue-winged tealThe September teal. Pale blue forewing and a white facial crescent on drakes.Northern shovelerThe spoonbill. A huge flat bill, and drakes with a green head and white chest.Northern pintailLong neck, long pointed tail. Prefers open fields and water to the timber.American wigeonThe baldpate. White crown on drakes, a whistled call and a big white wing patch.American black duckA dark, mallard-sized duck. Uncommon this far south and west.Mottled duckA warm-brown, mallard-like duck of the Gulf Coast. A key Louisiana bird.

Diving ducks

Divers patter across the water to take off and feed underwater. Big open water, plus ring-necks in the timber.

Ring-necked duckA small diver with a peaked head and a white ring on the bill. Common in timber and beaver ponds.Lesser scaupThe bluebill. Gray back, dark head and a blue bill. Has its own bag limit by date.CanvasbackLong sloping profile, red head and a whiter-than-white back.RedheadRound red head, gray back and a three-toned blue bill.BuffleheadA tiny diver. Drakes are mostly white with a big white patch on a dark head.

Mergansers

Fish-eating divers with thin, serrated bills. They have their own daily limit.

Hooded merganserA thin-billed diver with a fan crest. Has its own merganser limit.

Geese

Snow, white-fronted and Canada geese, with their own seasons and limits, including the spring Conservation Order for light geese.

Snow gooseWhite geese with black wingtips, plus the dark "blue" form. Huge flocks over the rice country.Greater white-fronted gooseThe specklebelly. Brown with black belly bars, orange legs and a white face patch.Canada gooseBlack neck and a white chin strap. Resident and migrant birds both.

Rules checked Oct 22, 2026. Read the full state law pages before you hunt. Photo and recording credits are on each species page and the credits page.