Ducks

Across the world, ducks and geese are symbolic of wild places, even though an increasing number are adapting to man-made environments. Together with swans, the ducks and geese belong to the family Anatidae, which are sometimes known collectively as 'waterfowl'.

These birds have always been of great significance to mankind as a source of food and sport, and several species have been domesticated or hybridised in Europe and North America. Worldwide, there are close to 150 species of ducks, geese and swans. Sub-Saharan Africa has just 27 species (including a handful of Palearctic migrants) of which 16 are resident in Southern Africa. In this article, we take a look at just some of the African species.

When is a goose not a goose?

In spite of their names, the Egyptian, spur-winged and pygmy geese are not geese, but ducks. There are, in fact, no true geese south of the Sahara. True geese lack iridescent plumage and have an irregular, net-like surface to the tarsus (that part of the leg between the 'ankle' and 'knee').

Ducks (except for the whistling ducks), on the other hand, have horizontal plates or scales on the tarsus, and many species have iridescent feathers on the wing.

Walk like an Egyptian

The Egyptian goose is an unmistakable and sometimes unavoidable bird! Noisy and aggressive, it commandeers natural pans and lakeshores, and has adapted extremely well to man-made waterholes and dams.

It occurs throughout Southern Africa and is the only member of the Anatidae to breed both north and south of the Equator. It now occurs in very large numbers in Johannesburg parks, and breeds in all months of the year. Some 30 000 are estimated to occur on the Highveld, with large winter aggregations forming on bigger pan systems. Smaller numbers occur in the sub-tropical lowveld.

There can be little doubt that the creation of artificial waterbodies such as farm dams has allowed this species to expand both in range and numbers. The Egyptian goose feeds on grass, seeds, aquatic rhizomes and crop seedlings.

The nest is a natural hollow on the ground, or more typically in woodland areas - a disused stick nest of another bird. The huge thatched nest of the hamerkop is frequently used as a nesting site, much to the dismay of the hard-working builders!

Pygmy among the waterlilies

The tiny pygmy goose (not really a goose, but a duck) weighs just 300 grams, and is the smallest and most beautiful of its family in Africa. With its bottle-green and terracotta plumage, white face and banana-yellow beak, it is striking little bird.

Pairs mate for life and live on quiet stretches of natural pans and freshwater lakes, or inundated floodplains. This is a diving duck, which feeds primarily off waterlily seeds but also aquatic insects, tadpoles and fish fry. When approached, the pygmy goose typically remains motionless and can be very hard to see among floating vegetation, but once detected, it flies off rapidly on whirring wings.

Comb or knob?

The impressive knob-billed duck is also known as the comb duck, and both names are derived from the strange fleshy swelling which sits - and grows - upon the male's bill.

With striking indigo and white plumage, these ducks are nomads and migrants, moving in huge flocks from one feeding site to another, depending upon rainfall and river flow. Floodplains are their favoured haunts.

They are good perchers, typically lay their eggs in a tree hole, and spend much of their day loafing on sun-drenched sandbanks.

The whistling ducks

Although the name seems to have fallen out of favour with the authors of most current field guides, the white-faced and fulvous whistling ducks do 'whistle' and they are different enough from other ducks to deserve the name. They are, in fact, the most goose-like of all African ducks and even possess the net-like tarsus pattern.

Pairs mate for life, but associate with others of their kind in flocks which can number up to 1000. They are most often seen standing - with typical upright pose and outstretched neck - on sandbanks next to water.

The beautiful three-note call of the white-faced whistling duck is one of the African wildernesses most enchanting sounds. Interestingly, very similar species occur in South America and Australia, suggestive of an evolutionary link prior to the break-up of the super-continent - Gondwanaland.

The standard model

The yellow-billed duck is what you might call a 'typical' duck - the standard model. Anatomically and ecologically, this is the African version of the well-known Mallard - the most popular 'sporting' duck in Europe and North America.

The yellow-billed version occurs widely in Africa, with pairs being at home in cool grassy uplands, tropical pans, coastal estuaries and sometimes even garden ponds. It belongs to the genus Anas, which includes the various teals and which are characterised by emerald or sapphire secondary wing feathers.

Plant matter comprises the bulk of its diet, along with a small proportion of beetle larvae and other insects. The nest is a luxuriant bowl of soft grass stems lined with downy feathers, and set within reeds or rank grass.

Where to see waterfowl at CCAfrica lodges

A good variety of ducks are to be seen in and around the natural pans of Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa, with white-faced whistling duck, white-backed duck, pygmy goose and red-billed teal among those frequently present. As expected, Botswana's Okavango Delta provides superb habitat for waterfowl, with 13 of the 16 Southern African residents, so Nxabega Okavango Safari Camp and Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge are 'paradise found' for duck fanciers! The Zambezi River attracts several species of duck to its floodplains and channels, with knob-billed duck, and white-faced whistler most abundant when conditions are best; these and other species are regularly encountered at Matetsi Game Lodges in Zimbabwe.

The African black duck prefers fast flowing rivers to still lakes, and can be seen in the Zambezi at Matetsi, and the Sand River at Londolozi Private Game Reserve in South Africa. In East Africa, the breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater is a haven for wildfowl, with high altitude marshes, freshwater springs and saline pans provide ideal habitat; the migratory gargany and northern shoveller are commonly seen between September and March by visitors to Ngorongoro Crater Lodge.

Posted: Birds by CC Africa, Date: 21 November 2006