Yellow-billed Duck

Anas undulata

Dams & wetlands. Yellow bill with black saddle. Above dark brown, all feathers edged white; head and underparts white, all feathers with dark brown centres, densely so on head and neck.

Not Endemic

Description

Very common resident. Bright yellow bill with black central patch diagnostic. Feathers are brown but edged with white, broadly on flanks and underparts, giving ashy appearance. Head and neck dusky. In flight shows iridescent emerald speculum. Immature has buff-edged feathers; underparts more heavily spotted. No distinctive call, but on take-off female utters loud, evenly spaced quacks. Pairs and flocks occur on various open waters: estuaries, lakes, dams, flooded lands, pans and slow-running rivers with pools. In the dry season, large numbers often congregate on open waters, but disperse widely during rains.

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.