Cotton pygmy goose
Cotton pygmy goose | |
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Male (behind), and female, race albipennis | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Genus: | Nettapus |
Species: | N. coromandelianus |
Binomial name | |
Nettapus coromandelianus Gmelin, 1789 | |
Subspecies | |
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The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal[2] (Nettapus coromandelianus) is a small perching duck which breeds in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and south to Queensland.
Description
Small individuals of this species are the smallest waterfowl on earth, at as little as 160 g (5.6 oz) and 26 cm (10 in). The goose-like bill is short and deep at the base. The head is rounded and the legs are short. The plumage is mostly white. The male in breeding plumage has a glossy greenish black crown and a prominent black collar. In flight the wings are green with a white band. The female is paler, and the white band on the wing is smaller or lacking. The nonbreeding male resembles the female except for his broader white wing band.
Distribution
This species is widely distributed across Asia, its distribution extending to Australia and the Middle East.[1] Northern populations make long-distance migrations south in the winter.
Behaviour
This species feeds on vegetable matter, but may also take insects and other small animals. It nests in natural hollows, such as tree trunks, and produces 6 to 12 ivory-colored eggs per clutch.
Gallery
- Male in flight
- Male in Thailand
- Female in Thailand
- Females resting with a whiskered tern
References
- 1 2 BirdLife International (2012). "Nettapus coromandelianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Ali, Salim; Daniel, J. C. (1983). The book of Indian Birds (Twelfth Centenary ed.). New Delhi: Bombay Natural History Society/Oxford University Press.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nettapus coromandelianus. |
Wikispecies has information related to Nettapus coromandelianus |