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African Black Duck
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African Black Duck
Anas sparsa
The African black duck (Anas sparsa) is a species of duck of the genus Anas. It is genetically closest to the mallard group, but shows some peculiarities in its behavior and (as far as they can be discerned) plumage; it is accordingly placed in the subgenus Melananas pending further research.
From the article African black duck on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The African black duck is a black duck with pronounced white marks on its back, a dark bill, and orange legs and feet. A purpish-blue speculum is often visible, especially in flight. It lives in central and southern Africa. It is also known as the black river duck, or (A. s. leucostigma) West African black duck or Ethiopian black duck. It is a medium-sized duck, with a length of 48–57 cm (19–22 in). The male is larger than the female.
Range & habitat
The African black duck is mainly found in eastern and southern sub-Saharan Africa from South Africa north to South Sudan and Ethiopia with outlying populations in western equatorial Africa, in southeast Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
What it does
It is a very shy and territorial duck. It is usually seen in pairs or small flocks. It breeds throughout the year in different areas. Incubation is about 30 days by the mother and the fledgling period is 86 days and only the mother takes care of the young. Their egg quantity ranges from 4 to 8 eggs.
Wikipedia: “Behavior and reproduction”
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Anas sparsa in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 6976.