Maccoa Duck

Oxyura maccoa

Wetlands. Bright blue bill on black head; body chestnut.

Ducks, Geese

Not Endemic

Description

Uncommon, nomadic resident. A small, squat species, with a bright-blue broad-based bill. Chestnut-coloured breeding male unmistakable. Female and male in non-breeding plumage differ from female of [Southern Pochard] in horizontal facial stripes and squat appearance. Generally silent. Occurs on dams and lakes with extensive fringing reed beds – usually more females than males. Seldom seen out of water during the day. Swims low in the water with tail trailing, the tip submerged, or with tail stiffly erect. In courtship the male often swims with head and neck stretched forward, the neck inflated and the bill in the water making bubbles, tail erect. Both sexes dive frequently. Nomadic during spring and summer.

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.