WATERFOWL of The World
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 Cereopsis - 1 species
Goose, Cape Barren Cereopsis novaehollandiae Found: Australia
The Cape Barren Goose is a most peculiar goose of uncertain affiliations. 1996).
It may either belong to the "true geese" and swan subfamily Anserinae or into the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae. [Wikipedia]
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 also 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 Stictonetta - 1 species
Duck, Freckled Stictonetta naevosa Found: Australia
This species was formerly allied with the dabbling ducks, but is now placed in a monotypic subfamily Stictonettinae. It appears to be part of an Gondwanan radiation of waterfowl, before true ducks evolved (Sraml et al. 1996). [Wikipedia]
1, 2) Male 4, 5, 6) Female
Genus Nettapus
The `my 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
Goose, Cotton Pygmy Nettapus coromandelianus Found: Asia, Australia
Photographed by: 1) Charlie Westerinen in captivity in Arizona 2) JJ Harrison in Thailand
2) Female
Goose, Green Pygmy Nettapus pulchellus Found: Australia
Photographed by: 1, 3) Dick Daniels - Sylvan Heights 2) Dick - Sylvan Heights 4) Sandy Cole - Sylvan Heightss
Family Anseranatidae
This family has only one Genus and that Genus has only one species - the Magpie Goose! This goose diverged from the other waterfowl tens of millions of years ago,
Genus Anseranas - 1 species
Goose, Magpie Anseranas semipalmata Found: Australia
Photographed by: 1, 3, 5, 6, 7) Dick Daniels - Australia 2, 4, 8) Dick - Sylvan Heights
SCREAMERs
Family Anhimidae
The screamers are a small family of birds related to ducks (family Anatidae), but more closely to the Magpie Goose which is the only species in family Anseranatidae. The three Anhimidae species occur only in South America, ranging from Venezuela to northern Argentina. They are large, bulky birds, with a small downy head, long legs and large feet which are only partially webbed. They have large spurs on their wings which are used in fights over mates and territorial disputes[1]; these can break off in the breast of other screamers, and are regularly renewed. Unlike ducks they have a partial moult, and are able to fly throughout the year. They live in open areas and marshes with some grass and feed on water plants. [Wikipedia]
Genus Anhima - 1 species
Screamer, Horned Anhima cornuta Found: South America
Photographed by: 1) Diego Miguel_Garces 2) Christoph2007 3) Cláudio Timm - the Amazon, Brazil
Genus Chauna
Screamer, Northern also Crested Screamer Chauna chavaria Found: South America
Photographed by: 1) George Robert Gray 2) anthrotect
Screamer, Southern also Crested Screamer Chauna torquata Found: South America
Photographed by: 1, 2, 4) Dick Daniels - Jacksonville Zoo 3, 5) Cláudio Timm - - Tacuarembó, Uruguay
6) Dick Daniels - San Diego Zoo
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.