A diving duck that breeds on North American lakes and marshes. In winter it gathers on fresh and coastal waters to find aquatic plant roots and tubers.
Males have a reddish-brown head and neck, a white body, and a black chest and tail. Females are pale brown and share the sloping forehead shape.
It often dives for aquatic plant roots and tubers. During the breeding season, females build floating nests in shallow wetlands with reeds and cattails.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.