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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Old
World comb duck, comb duck, knob-billed duck |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Anseriformes |
| FAMILY: |
Anatidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Sarkidiornis
(fleshy comb) melanotos melanotos (black
back) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Old
World comb ducks are large-sized ducks. They have
a metallic-violet, purple, bronze and green back
with yellow or cinnamon flanks. The head is creamy-white
and the neck is orange-yellow in color. Some have
a variable black head. Both sexes possess a small
crest of slightly curly feathers. |
| FEMALE |
The
less glossy females lack a comb and yellowish head
coloration, and their head is normally more profusely
spotted than the male. |
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| SIZE: |
Reaches
lengths of 56-58 cm (22-23 in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
Approximately
800-940 g (2 lb) |
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| DIET: |
Diet
includes grass seeds and small snails |
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| INCUBATION: |
30-32 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
6-11
eggs |
| FLEDGING
DURATION |
10
weeks |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
About
1-2 years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Approximately
20-30 years |
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| RANGE: |
Africa,
south of the Sahara and Madagascar |
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| HABITAT: |
Inhabit
grassy savanna and woodlands |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Unknown |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Appendix
II |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Comb
ducks are named for the prominent, leaf-shaped comb
atop the male's bill. The comb is fleshy and reduced
in size for much of the year, but enlarges prior
to breeding season. |
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| 2. |
This African duck tends to migrate long distances,
occasionally traveling more than 2,200 miles! |
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| 3. |
Old World comb ducks perch in trees, clinging with
their strong claws to vertical tree trunks like
monstrous woodpeckers! |
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| 4. |
These
ducks are usually silent except when annoyed or
displaying. At that time, males hiss, wheeze, or
croak and whistle while females quack, grunt, and
whine. |
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| 5. |
Old
World comb ducks nest in tree cavities about 6.1-9.1
meters (20-30 ft) above the ground or within holes
in the walls of buildings. |
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| 6. |
This
species, as with other tree ducks, practices dump
nesting where several females lay their eggs in
one nest. Such nests may hold more than 50 eggs! |
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| In
some regions, the birds are viewed as rice crop
pests. |
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|
| Austin,
G. Birds of the World. New York. Golden Press,
Inc., 1961. |
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|
Gotch, A.F. Birds - Their Latin Names Explained.
UK. Blandford Books Ltd., 1981. |
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Johnsgard, P. Ducks, Geese, and Swans of the
World. Lincoln. Univ. Of Neb. Press, 1978.
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| Scott,
P. A Coloured Key of the Wildfowl of the World.
Slimbridge, England. The Wildfowl Trust. 1988. |
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| Todd,
F.S. Natural History of Waterfowl. San Diego,
Ca. Ibis Publishing Co., 1996. |
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| http://www.virtualbirder.com/vbirder/ibis/CODU/CODU185.html
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