The ugly duck lives and inhabits streams, deep recesses between rocks and bushes, and tree holes. In spring, it migrates to the northern breeding grounds from May to early June, and in autumn, it migrates to the wintering grounds from mid-to-late September to mid-to-late October, often in small groups or family groups. Migration usually takes place along rivers and coasts.
It often moves in pairs or small groups, and also gathers in large groups during the non-breeding season. It flies fast, but usually does not fly high. It swims well and is also good at diving. When swimming, the tail is vertically erected, and it is also good at swimming and diving in fast currents. They often dive for food in steep mountain streams, turbulent rivers and reef-filled coastal waves. They dive for a long time, but usually do not dive very deep. Sometimes they dive directly into the water from the steep river bank or coast. When resting, they often stand on the shore or rocks, and sometimes they mix with other wild ducks.
The ugly duck mainly feeds on animal food. They forage mostly during the day. They often forage in fast-flowing rivers, mountain streams and near reef-filled coasts. They mainly forage by diving. Their food mainly consists of mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, aquatic insects and insect larvae. It can dive into the water to feed on benthic aquatic animals, as well as mollusks and insects attached to rocks in the water. In addition, it often wades in shallow water near the shore to feed or dives into the water with its head down and its tail up to feed. During the courtship period, the male bird makes a high whistle sound, and the female bird makes a rough and short call. It does not call at other times.
In March 2022, the ugly duck was first discovered in Dafeng Tidal Flats of the Yellow Sea Wetland in Yancheng, my country. This was also the first time that the ugly duck was discovered in Jiangsu Province.
