Tag Archives: duck
Other Ducks
The White-backed Duck (Thalassornis leuconotus) is believed to be more closely related to whistling ducks. It is brown with black bands all over the body and white facial spot at bill base.
The Freckled Duck (Stictonetta naevosa), Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus) and Australian Woodduck (Chenonetta jubata) are endemic to Australia; each a distinctive duck.
Freckled Duck (left) with Hardhead (right) at Hasties Swamp, Australia ©Con Foley
Pink-eared Duck at Hasties Swamp, Australia ©Con Foley
Australian Woodduck family in Adelaide, Australia ©Tan KH
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) and Mandarin Duck (A. galericulata) are both colourful ducks, but the former belongs to the New World and the latter the Old World.
There are 3 species of pygmy geese (genus Nettapus):
- African Pygmy Goose (N. auritus) of Africa
- Green Pygmy Goose (N. pulchellus) in Australasia
- Cotton Pygmy Goose (N. coromandelianus) of Asia and Australia
Green Pygmy Geese (left male, right female) in Kakadu, Australia ©Tan KH
There are 4 species of steamer ducks (genus Tachyeres) and they are found in South America.
- Flying Steamer Duck (T. patachonicus)
- Fuegian Steamer Duck (T. pteneres)
- Falkland Steamer Duck (T. brachypterus)
- Chubut Steamer Duck (T. leucocephalus)
The Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis sylvicola) of South America and the Knob-billed Duck (S. melanotos) of Africa and Asia are sometimes treated as a single species. They have a distinctive comb-like structure on the bill.
The Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) of the New World is one of the two ancestors of domestic ducks; the other being the Mallard. It has a distinctive red wattle patch between the eyes and the bill.
Domestic Muscovy Duck in Australia ©Tan KH
The White-winged Duck (Asarcornis scutulata) is very rare duck of Southeast Asia and India.
White-winged Duck in Sumatra, Indonesia ©Tan GC
Hartlaub’s Duck (Pteronetta hartlaubii) is a duck of equatorial Africa. It has a reddish brown body, white upperwing coverts, black head and neck, white forehead and a dark bill with a pale tip.
Reference
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/master-list-2/
Stiff-tail Ducks
The Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) is a North and Central American duck. The male has a rich chestnut plumage with a black cap, big white cheek patch and blue bill. The female is duller and has a dark bill.
Female Ruddy Duck in NY, US ©Tan KH
The Masked Duck (Nomonyx dominicus) is found in Central America.
The Black-headed Duck (Heteronetta atricapilla), Andean Duck (O. ferruginea) and Lake Duck (O. vittata) are South American ducks.
The Maccoa Duck (O. maccoa) is an African duck, while the White-headed Duck (O. leucocephala) is an Old World duck.
Blue-billed Duck (O. australis) is endemic to Australia. The breeding male has a rich chestnut plumage with a blackish head and blue bill. The female is dark grey with fine pale bar all over.
The Musk Duck (Biziura lobata) is endemic to Australia. It has a dark plumage and a lobe under the bill, which is much reduced in the female.
Musk Duck in Melbourne, Australia ©Tan KH
Reference
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/master-list-2/
Sea Ducks
There are 4 species of eiders:
- Steller’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri)
- Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri)
- King Eider (S. spectabilis)
- Common Eider (S. mollissima)
Common Eider (female front, males back) in Sweden ©Con Foley
The Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a distinctive duck of north North America and Eurasia.
Harlequin Duck in Yellowstone National Park, US ©Tan KH
There are 5 species of scoters:
- Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
- Velvet Scoter (M. fusca)
- White-winged Scoter (M. deglandi)
- Common Scoter (M. nigra)
- Black Scoter (M. americana)
Black Scoter (left male, right female) in Japan ©Con Foley
The Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) breeds in northern North America and Eurasia, but during winter, it can reach as far south as Thailand on rare occasions. The male has a distinctive black-and-white plumage, while the female has a dark cap and brown breast and wing coverts.
There are 3 species in the genus Bucephala, but only the two goldeneyes, Common Goldeneye (B. clangula) and Barrow’s Goldeneye (B. islandica), could be confused with each other. The male could be distinguished by the rounder white face patch and more white on wing for the former; the female could be distinguished by much less yellow on the bill for the former. The Bufflehead (B. albeola) has a distinctive big white patch on the head (bigger in male).
The Smew (Mergellus albellus) is a distinctive black-and-white duck of Eurasia.
There are 5 species of mergansers:
- Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) of North America – distinctive big white patch on head in male.
- Brazilian Merganser (L. octosetaceus) of South America – distinctive green iridescent head in both sexes and overall dark greyish plumage.
- Common Merganser (L. merganser) of North America and Eurasia – the male has an iridescent dark green head and upper neck, white body with black back; the female has a brown head with white chin, and greyish body.
- Red-breasted Merganser (L. serrator) of North America and Eurasia – the male has an iridescent dark green head, white body with brown breast, grey flanks and black back; the female has a brown head, greyish body with white belly.
- Scaly-sided Merganser (L. squamatus) of eastern Asia – the male has a black head, white body with black back and scaly flanks; the female has brown head, greyish body with scaly flanks and white belly.
Hooded Merganser (male left, female right) in ID, US ©Tn KH
Common Merganser (male right, female left) in ID, US ©Tan KH
Reference
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/master-list-2/
Diving Ducks
These ducks generally dive for food.
The Marbled Duck (Marmaronetta angustirostris) lives in Spain and north Africa east to west China. It is a mottled pale duck with a brown face mask and head tuft.
There are 3 species in the genus Netta.
- Red-crested Pochard (Netta rufina) of Eurasia and north Africa – the male has a chestnut head, red bill, black breast, white flanks, brown back, black rear; the female is brown with a pale face and a dark bill with yellowish/reddish tip; the non-breeding male is like the female, but with red bill.
- Rosy-billed Pochard (N. peposaca) of South America – the male is black with grey flanks and red bill with a knob at the bill base; the female is brown with a dark back and a dark bill.
- Southern Pochard (N. erythrophthalma) of South America and Africa – the male is dark with a pale bill; the female is brown with pale face and brown cheek.
Male Red-crested Pochard in Austria ©Con Foley
Male Rosy-billed Pochard in Jurong Bird Park, Singapore ©Tan KH
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) has a distinctive feature: the forehead and the culmen forms an almost straight line. Plumage-wise, it looks like the following two ducks.
The Redhead (A. americana) and Common Pochard (A. ferina) look alike, but the former is found in New World, while the latter in the Old World.
The Hardhead (A. australis) is an Australasian duck. The male has white eyes, but the female has dark eyes.
Hardhead (male back, female front) in Adelaide, Australia ©Tan KH
The Madagascan Pochard (A. innotata) is only found on Madagascar.
The Ferruginous Duck (A. nyroca) has a duck of Eurasia and Africa. It is reddish overall with a white belly patch; the head being more brilliant red in the male. The male has white eyes, but the female has dark eyes.
Ferruginous Pochard in Thailand ©Con Foley
The Baer’s Pochard (A. baeri) is a very rare duck breeding in southeastern Russia and northeastern Asia; wintering south to India and Southeast Asia. It is like the Ferruginous Duck, but the male has a dark green head.
The following 5 species look alike, but could be distinguished by the amount of white in a generally dark plumage.
- New Zealand Scaup (A. novaeseelandiae) is endemic to New Zealand – unlike other scaups, it has an all-dark plumage.
- Tufted Duck (A. fuligula) of the Old World – the male is black with white flanks and belly; the female is all brownish.
- Greater Scaup (A. marila) of North American and Eurasia – the male has a greyish back, iridescent dark greenish head, larger nail at bill tip and whiter flanks; the female has a white facial patch at the bill base.
- Lesser Scaup (A. affinis) of North America – the male has a greyish back, iridescent dark purplish head, smaller nail at bill tip and dirty-white flanks; the female has a white facial patch at the bill base. In both sexes, the back of the head is more angled than in Greater Scaup.
- Ring-necked Duck (A. collaris) of North America – the male has a black back; unlike other scaups, the bill is not all bluish, but has two white bands for male and one for female; the female has pale eye ring.
New Zealand Scaup (female left, males middle and right) in New Zealand ©Tan KH
Lesser Scaup in ID, US ©Tan KH
Reference
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/master-list-2/
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.
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.
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
- 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/
Shelducks and relatives
There are 7 species of Tadorna shelducks.The Paradise Shelduck (T. variegata) is endemic to New Zealand. The female has a white head and chestnut body, while the male is all blackish.
The Australian Shelduck (T. tadornoides) is found in Australia and New Zealand. It has a dark head, white collar, chestnut breast and dark body. In flight, the wings show white coverts, green secondaries and dark primaries. The female has white eye-ring and bill base ring.
Australian Shelduck (female left, male right) in Melbourne, Australia ©Tan KH
The Raja Shelduck (T. radjah) is found in the Moluccas, New Guinea and Australia. It is also known as Radjah Shelduck. It has a mostly white duck with a dark breast band, scapulars, primaries and tail. When the wings are stretched, a green band can be seen on the upperwing secondaries. Both sexes are alike.
Raja Shelduck in Darwin, Australia ©Tan KH
The other extant shelducks are:
- Common Shelduck (T. tadorna) of Eurasia and northern Africa – red bill (knob bigger in male), blackish-green head and scapulars, white body with thick chestnut lower breast band, black belly stripe, black primaries.
- Ruddy Shelduck (T. ferruginea) of Eurasia and northern Africa – black bill, white head with orangey-brown body, white wing coverts, black primaries, green secondaries and black tail. Female lacks the thin black collar of the male.
- South African Shelduck (T. cana) of southern Africa – uniform grey head and neck, orangey-brown breast in male; white face, dark neck and cap in female. Both chestnut body, white wing coverts, black primaries and green secondaries.
Male Common Shelduck in Varberg, Sweden ©Con Foley
Ruddy Shelduck in Jurong Bird Park, Singapore ©Tan KH
Some relatives of the shelducks are:
- Blue Duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos) of New Zealand has a dark head, slaty-blue body, chestnut spots on the breast, and a pale bill with dark fleshy skin at the tip. Both sexes look alike.
- Torrent Duck (Merganetta armata) of South America.
- Salvadori’s Teal (Salvadorina waigiuensis) of New Guinea.
Blue Duck on Tongariro River, New Zealand ©Tan KH
Reference
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/master-list-2/
Whistling Ducks
There are 8 species of whistling ducks (Genus Dendrocygna).
Black-bellied Whistling Duck (D. autumnalis) is found from southern USA to northern Argentina. It has pink bill and legs, white eye ring, greyish head, brown body with black belly, and a large white wing patch.
White-faced Whistling Duck (D. viduata) is found in South America and Africa. It has black bill and legs, white face and throat, black back of neck, chestnut neck, and a large barred wing patch.
Spotted Whistling Duck (D. guttata) is found from southern Philippines to Sulawesi to New Guinea and northern Australia. It is brown with white spots on the flanks.
Captive Spotted Whistling Duck in Jurong Bird Park, Singapore ©Tan KH
West Indian Whistling Duck (D. arborea) is only found in the West Indies. It looks like the Spotted Whistling Duck, but the white spots are appears more irregularly-shaped, the bill is larger and the neck longer.
Fulvous Whistling Duck (D. bicolor) has a wide range in Central and South America, Africa and South Asia. It is light brown with a plain head, thin stripe down the back of neck, pale uppertail coverts, thin white flank plumes, and no yellow eye ring.
Lesser Whistling Duck (D. javanica) is found in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is light brown with yellow eye ring, dark crown stripe down the back of neck, reddish uppertail coverts, little or no white flank plumes, and no black spots on the breast.
Family of 5 Lesser Whistling Ducks at Satay by the Bay, Singapore ©Danny Lau
Wandering Whistling Duck (D. arcuata) is found from the Philippines to Australia. It is light brown with black spots on the breast, dark crown stripe down the back of neck, pale uppertail coverts, thick white flank plumes, and no yellow eye ring.
Wandering Whistling Ducks at Darwin, Australia ©Tan KH
Plumed Whistling Duck (D. eytoni) is found only in Australia. It can be easily distinguished from the rest by the prominent and thick white flank plumes.
Plumed Whistling Ducks at Darwin, Australia ©Tan KH
Reference
http://www.worldbirdnames.org/ioc-lists/master-list-2/
Birds of the World 