African Pygmy-Goose

Nettapus auritus

Lily pans. Uapperparts dark green; underparts orange-beige; short yellow bill.

Ducks, Geese

Not Endemic

Description

Locally common resident. Identified by small size, dark green upper parts, orange body and short yellow bill. White wing panels diagnostic in flight. Immature resembles female. Male utters a soft twittering whistle ‘choo-choo’ or ‘pee-wee’ and a repeated, subdued ‘tsu-tswi… tsu-tswi…’; female a weak quack and a twittering whistle. Pairs or groups on quiet, sheltered pans, dams and pools with clear water and water lilies. When alert, remains motionless among the surface vegetation and is difficult to detect. Dives readily and perches in trees.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Most of the region's ducks are either migratory to some extent or locally nomadic, their movements being dictated by food, rainfall and breeding requirements. Many show marked plumage differences between the sexes. Ducks and geese undergo a flightless four-to-eight-week period each year when they moult all their flight feathers simultaneously. The large Spur-winged and Egyptian Geese differ from geese of the northern hemisphere in having longer bills and legs, the African Pygmy-Goose being our only representative of the ‘true' geese. Ducks of the genus *Dendrocygna* (whistling ducks), which include the White-faced and Fulvous whistling ducks, differ from those of other genera in having close-set legs placed well back on the body. This enables them to stand erect and walk without waddling. In addition they show no sexual dimorphism and have whistling voices. In contrast, ducks of the genus *Anas*, often referred to as dabbling ducks, have widely spaced legs placed centrally on the body. This causes them to stand with the body horizontally and to walk with a waddle. They are further typified by quacking voices.