Dabbling Ducks

Most dabbling ducks belong to the genus Anas, which include wigeons, shovelers, pintails, various teals, etc.

The classic representative from this group is the Mallard (A. platyrhynchos).

Mallard family in CA, US ©Tan KH

The Mallard is the ancestor of most Domestic Ducks (A. p.  domesticus).

There are 3 extant species of wigeons:
Eurasian Wigeon (A. penelope) – Old World,
American Wigeon (A. americana) – North and Central America,
Chiloe Wigeon (A. sibilatrix) – South America.

Eurasian Wigeon (left female, right male) in Japan ©Yamane Yoshio

American Wigeon (female front, male back) in ID, US ©Tan KH

There are 4 species of shovelers, which are so called for the shovel-shaped bill:
Cape Shoveler (A. smithii) – Africa,
Red Shoveler (A. platalea) – South America,
Australasian Shoveler (A. rhynchotis) – Australasia,
Northern Shoveler (A. clypeata) – worldwide.

Male Northern Shoveler in Japan ©Yamane Yoshio

Female Northern Shoveler with Whimbrels in Singapore ©Tan KH

There are 4 species of pintails, which are so called for the long pin-shaped tail of the breeding male:
White-cheeked Pintail (A. bahamensis) – New World,
Yellow-billed Pintail (A. georgica) – South America,
Northern Pintail (A. acuta) – worldwide,
Eaton’s Pintail (A. eatoni) – Indian Ocean islands.

Male Northern Pintail in Japan ©Con Foley

Female Northern Pintail in Hong Kong ©Con Foley

Besides the Mallard, there are 2 other species which have irregular names: Gadwall (A. strepera) and Garganey (A. querquedula).

Gadwall (male left, female right) in NJ, US ©Con Foley

Female Garganey in Taiwan ©Con Foley

There are a bunch of teals:

Eurasian group:
• Sunda Teal (A. gibberifrons) of Indonesia looks like Grey Teal. In fact, they used to be conspecific.
• Andaman Teal (A. albogularis) of Andaman Islands and Great Cocos Island looks like Grey Teal. In fact, they used to be conspecific.
• Baikal Teal (A. formosa) of eastern Russia and Asia has a distinctive green-yellow-black-white head pattern for the breeding male.
• Eurasian Teal (A. crecca) of the Old World has a chestnut head with thick green eye band for the breeding male.

Sunda Teals in Bali, Indonesia ©Con Foley

Male Eurasian Teal in Taiwan ©Tan KH

African group:
• Cape Teal (A. capensis)
• Red-billed Teal (A. erythrorhyncha)
• Bernier’s Teal (A. bernieri)
• Hottentot Teal (A. hottentota)

Australasian group:
• Grey Teal (A. gracilis) is found from New Guinea through Australia to New Zealand. Both male and female look alike – mottled grey-brown with red eyes.
• Chestnut Teal (A. castanea) is endemic to Australia. The femle looks like Grey Teal, but has darker face and throat. The male has a chestnut body and green head.
• Auckland Teal (A. aucklandica) is endemic to the Auckland Islands of New Zealand. It is split from the Brown Teal recently.
• Campbell Teal (A. nesiotis) is endemic to the Campbell and Codfish Islands of New Zealand. It is split from the Brown Teal recently.
• Brown Teal (A. chlorotis) is endemic to New Zealand

Grey Teal in Darwin, Australia ©Con Foley

Male Chestnut Teal, Australia ©Tan KH

Female Chestnut Teal, Australia ©Tan KH

North American group:
• Blue-winged Teal (A. discors)
• Cinnamon Teal (A. cyanoptera)
• Green-winged Teal (A. carolinensis)

South American group:
• Yellow-billed Teal (A. flavirostris)
• Andean Teal (A. andium)
• Silver Teal (A. versicolor)
• Puna Teal (A. puna)

And a bunch of other ducks:

Falcated Duck (A. falcata)
African Black Duck (A. sparsa)
American Black Duck (A. rubripes)
Mottled Duck (A. fulvigula)
Mexican Duck (A. diazi)
Hawaiian Duck (A. wyvilliana)
Laysan Duck (A. laysanensis)
Philippine Duck (A. luzonica)

Philippine Duck in Philippines ©Con Foley

The male and female Pacific Black Duck (A. superciliosa) look like; both are dark brown with mottled plumage and black facial markings.

Pacific Black Duck in Melbourne, Australia ©Tan KH

The Indian Spot-billed Duck (A. poecilorhyncha) has orange spot at bill base separating it from the Eastern Spot-billed Duck (A. zonorhyncha). They were previously conspecific.

Indian Spot-billed Duck in India ©Con Foley

Eastern Spot-billed Duck in Taiwan ©Con Foley

The Yellow-billed Duck (A. undulata) and Meller’s Duck (A. melleri) are both dark brown ducks with mottled plumage, but the former has a yellow bill, while the latter a dark bill.

These are the ones not in the genus Anas and they are all South Americans:
Ringed Teal (Callonetta leucophrys)
Brazilian Teal (Amazonetta brasiliensis)
Crested Duck (Lophonetta specularioides)
Bronze-winged Duck (Speculanas specularis)

Reference
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/master-list-2/