The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult female is mottled brown. Both sexes have a blue wing patch. In flight, they flap their wings especially rapidly.
Their breeding habitat is marshes and ponds throughout the Upper Peninsula. The nest is a shallow depression on the ground lined with grass and down, usually surrounded by vegetation.
They migrate in flocks to Central and SouthAmerica. During migration, some birds may fly long distances over open ocean. They are occasional vagrants to Europe
These birds feed by dabbling in shallow water. They mainly eat plants; their diet may include molluscs and aquatic insects.