The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin americana, of America.

The Eurasian common pochard is even more similar, but very rarely overlaps in range; it also differs in having a red eye, and a more acute, less rounded head shape.

Their preferred areas include the intermontane regions of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Dakotas with some small localities in Ontario, Quebec and southern United States.

These areas include southern United States where breeding does not occur and extends to Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, and the Bahamas.

[6] Small, semi-permanent wetlands in non-forested country where the water is deep enough to provide dense emergent vegetation is considered ideal breeding habitat for redheads.

[7][11] When wintering, redheads switch to large areas of water near the coast that are protected from wave action, but can also be found in reservoirs, lakes, playa wetlands, freshwater river deltas, coastal marshes, estuaries and bays.

In central North America, migrants arrive as soon as temperatures open wetlands and lakes, which can range from late February (Nebraska) to early May (Alberta, Manitoba and Iowa).

In the Great Lakes region and north-eastern North America, migrants will also arrive as soon as bodies of water open up.

Central North American redheads will begin migrating earlier, around August/September and go through the Great Plains to the Texas coast.

Eastern populations will migrate through the Great Lakes region to the Atlantic Coast or Florida from October to November.

[14] Redheads flock together on lakes and other bodies of water, but migrate in pairs, which are formed in December or January through elaborate courtship rituals.

[7] Unpaired redheads migrate together in a ‘courting party’ that can be up to 25 individuals strong, enabling them to find a mate within the group.

If interested, the female produces inciting calls towards the male while performing alternate lateral and chin lifting movements.

They are built with thick and strong plant material in emergent vegetation, such as hard stem bulrush, cattails and sedges, over or near standing water.

This is thought to facilitate brood parasitism on other pochards, which is particularly prevalent on the part of younger, less experienced redhead females.

During the breeding season, redheads will eat as much animal matter as possible, including gastropods, mollusks and insect larvae.

[7][6] Gastropods known as food of Aythya americana include: Acteocina canaliculata, Acteon punctostriatus, Anachis avara, Anachis obesa, Caecum nitidum, Calliostoma sp., Cerithidea pliculosa, Cerithium lutosum, Crepidula convexa, Diastoma varium, Melanella sp., Mitrella lunata, Nassarius acutus, Nassarius vibex, Natica sp., Neritina virginea, Odostomia trifida, Olivella minuta, Olivella watermani, Polinices sp., Pyramidellidae, Pyrgocythara plicosa, Rissoina catesbyana, Sayella livida, Turbonilla sp., Turbonilla interrupta and Vitrinella sp.