WATERFOWL of Africa
The order Anseriformes contains about 150 living species of birds in three families: the Anhimidae (the screamers), Anseranatidae (the Magpie Goose), and the Anatidae, which includes over 140 species of waterfowl, among them the ducks, geese, and swans. All species in the order are web-footed for efficient swimming and have a large wide bill with a specialized tongue that allows water to be sucked in the front of the bill. An array of plates traps food particles as the water is expelled out the sides of the bill. Not all species feed this way, some graze on plants and some also catch fish. [abstracted from Wikipedia]
WATERFOWL ODDITIES
Order Anseriformes
The order Anseriformes has three families: Anatidae (most of the waterfowl), Anseranatidae (the magpie-goose), and Anhimidae (the screamers). This webpage contains some Anatidae oddities, plus familes Anseranatidae and Anhimidae.
Family Anatidae
Genus Plectropterus - 1 species
Goose, Spur-winged Plectropterus gambensis Found: Africa
The Spur-winged Goose, (Plectropterus gambensis), is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a
number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae. It occurs in wetlands throughout sub-Saharan Africa [Wikipedia]
4) Dick - near De Hoop Nature Reserve, South Africa 5) Dick - near De Hoop
1, 2, 3) Northern Spur-winged Goose (P. g. gambensis) 4 - 7) Black Spur-winged Goose (P. g. niger)
Genus Sarkidiornis - 1 species
Duck, Knob-billed aka Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos Found: Asia, Africa, South America
DNA analysis of the Knob-billed duck species suggests that it is a basal member of the Anatidae family. That is, the Knob-billed Duck does not have any close relatives. Sarkidiornis
m. melanotos is found in the Old World and Sarkidiornis m. sylvicola is found in South America
7) Arno Meintjes 8) Ian White - Zambia 9, 10) Lip Kee - India
1 - 6) Sarkidiornis m. sylvicola 1, 2) Male 3 - 6) Female
7 - 10) Sarkidiornis m. melanotos 7, 8) Male 9, 10) Female
Genus Nettapus
The pygmy geese are a group of very small "perching ducks" in the genus Nettapus which breed in the Old World tropics. They are the smallest of all waterfowl. The initially assumed relationship with the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae has been questioned.
Goose, African Pygmy Nettapus auritus Found: Africa
Photographed by: 1) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo 2, 3) Dick Daniels - the North Carolina Zoo
1) Pair (female on left) 2) Female 3) Male
All photos on this site are available for general use. Please credit the photographer. Some images have additional constraints such as no commercial use or no modifications. Click the photo credit link for details. Dick Daniels, webmaster.