Madagascar Pochard vs Wandering Whistling-duck

Aythya innotata مقارنةً بـ Dendrocygna arcuata

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Side-by-Side Comparison

السمة Madagascar Pochard Wandering Whistling-duck
الاسم العلمي Aythya innotata Dendrocygna arcuata
الرتبة Anseriformes Anseriformes
الفصيلة Anatidae Anatidae
حالة الحفاظ Critically Endangered Least Concern
الطول
طول الجناح 37,4 cm (14.7 in) 37,2 cm (14.6 in)
الوزن 685,0 g (24.16 oz) 779,5 g (27.50 oz)
النظام الغذائي Eats molluscs, crustaceans, and aquatic invertebrates; dives in shallow coastal and freshwater habitats. Eats grasses, sedges, and aquatic plants in tundra; winter diet of coastal salt marsh grasses …
عدد البيض في الوضع 6-10 6-15
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

الموائل المشتركة

Madagascar Pochard only

بلا

Wandering Whistling-duck only

بلا

Madagascar Pochard

Restricted to Lake Matsaborimena in the highlands of northern Madagascar at about 1,500 m altitude. Uses deep-water mountain lakes with aquatic vegetation. Critically Endangered; tiny wild population.

Wandering Whistling-duck

Tropical freshwater marshes, flooded grasslands, swamps, and lake margins from the Philippines and Indonesia through Papua New Guinea to northern and eastern Australia. Nomadic following wet season flooding.

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Song & Call Comparison

Madagascar Pochard

الغناء

Critically Endangered; produces a soft, Aythya-like purring and grating quacking. Calls are not well-documented; likely similar to closely related Ferruginous Duck based on phylogeny.

Wandering Whistling-duck

الغناء

A soft whistle 'whi-whi-whi' in flight. Less vocal than other whistling-ducks; flocks tend to be quieter. Given at dawn and dusk during flight to roosting or feeding areas.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Madagascar Pochard

Breeds across the northern boreal zone of Canada and Alaska; winters along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America.

Wandering Whistling-duck

Breeds in Arctic and subarctic regions; winters at sea around the Antarctic pack ice, one of the longest migrations known.

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حالة الحفاظ

Critically Endangered

Madagascar Pochard

Least Concern

Wandering Whistling-duck

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How to Tell Them Apart

Madagascar Pochard

الريش

Males have brown head and neck; dark brown back; pale gray flanks with white undertail. White eye. Blue-gray bill. Females browner with pale face patch and brown eye. Critically endangered; …

Wandering Whistling-duck

الريش

Rich chestnut-brown head and neck; dark brown back. Flanks rufous with pale buff streaks and dark spots. Belly blackish. Long, dark pinkish legs. Upright posture typical of whistling-ducks. Sexes similar.

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About These Birds

Madagascar Pochard

One of the world's rarest ducks; considered possibly extinct until 2006 rediscovery. A small brown pochard with a white eye in males. Found on an extremely small highland lake in Madagascar. Critically Endangered; intensive conservation efforts underway to save the tiny wild population.

Wandering Whistling-duck

A medium-sized whistling-duck with rufous-brown body, dark brown back, pale buff underparts, and a chestnut collar. Found in tropical wetlands from Indonesia to Australia and Pacific islands. Highly social and nomadic. Forages by dabbling and diving in shallow freshwater.

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