Subgenus:
Anas - dabbling ducks - mallards
Anas
platyrhynchos Stokkand Mallard w
Anas strepera Snadderand Gadwall eu-as-am
Anas poecilorhyncha Flekknebband (Indian) Spot-billed Duck as
Anas luzonica Filippinerand Philippine Duck as
Anas
falcata Sibirand Falcated Duck as
Anas querquedula Knekkand
Garganey eu-as
Anas formosa
Gulkinnand, Baikal Teal, Bimaculate Duck, or Squawk Duck as |
Anas is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes mallards, wigeons,
teals, pintails and shovelers in a number of subgenera.
Mallard
duck, Anas platyrhynchos
Ducks coupling - and then there will eggs...
No,
it isn't just easy to get the birds doing what you wish them to do...:
See
what I mean? First try, the female was down under,
second try, once again the female, third try - now the male...
but
I finally got them both.
Female
mallard with ducklings
Quickfire Media Ltd, Bristol
http://www.arkive.org
Knekkand, Anas querquedula
© http://www.ecosystema.ru/
© Josef Hlasek, www. hlasek.com
The Garganey, Anas querquedula, is a small dabbling
duck. It breeds in much of Europe and western Asia, but is strictly
migratory,
with the entire population moving to southern Africa, India
(in particular) Santragachi and Australasia in winter,
where large flocks can occur. This species was first described
by Linnaeus in 1758 under its current scientific name.
Like other small ducks such as the Common
Teal, this species rises easily from the water with
a fast twisting
wader-like flight.
Their breeding habitat is grassland adjacent to shallow marshes
and steppe lakes.
© Josef Hlasek,
www. hlasek.com
|
The adult male is unmistakable, with its brown head and breast
with a broad white crescent over the eye.
The rest of the plumage is grey, with loose grey scapular feathers
It has a grey bill and legs.
In flight it shows a pale blue speculum with a white border.
When swimming it will show prominent white edges on its
tertials. His crown (anatomy) is dark and face is reddish-brown.
Some care is needed in separating the brown female from the
similar Common Teal, but the
stronger face markings and
more frequent head-shaking when dabbling are good indicators.
Confusion with the female of the Blue-winged
Teal is
also possible, but the head and bill shape is different, and
the latter species has yellow legs. Pale eyebrow, dark eye
line,
pale lore spot bordered by a second dark line.
© Josef Hlasek,
www. hlasek.com
|
These birds feed mainly by skimming rather than upending.
The male has a distinctive crackling mating call; the female
is rather silent for a female duck, but can manage a feeble
quack.
Garganey are rare breeding birds in the British Isles, with
most breeding in quiet marshes in Norfolk and Suffolk.
In Ireland a few pairs now breed annually in Wexford.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garganey
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