African Black Duck vs Garganey
Anas sparsa compared with Spatula querquedula
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Attribute | African Black Duck | Garganey |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Anas sparsa | Spatula querquedula |
| Order | Anseriformes | Anseriformes |
| Family | Anatidae | Anatidae |
| Conservation Status | Least Concern | Least Concern |
| Length | — | — |
| Wingspan | 49.5 cm (19.5 in) | 37.6 cm (14.8 in) |
| Weight | 996.8333333333334 g (35.16 oz) | 401.25 g (14.15 oz) |
| Diet | Eats molluscs, crustaceans, and aquatic invertebrates; dives in coastal and freshwater habitats; diet heavier in … | Eats seeds, plant matter, and aquatic invertebrates; dabbles in shallow wetlands; diet shifts toward invertebrates … |
| Clutch Size | 4-9 | 6-14 |
| Population Trend | — | — |
Habitat Comparison
African Black Duck
Fast-flowing rocky rivers and streams, mountain gorges, and waterfalls from sea level to 4,000 m across sub-Saharan Africa from Ethiopia and Kenya south to the Cape. Requires clear turbulent water with boulders.
Garganey
Breeds on freshwater marshes, flooded meadows, and lake margins in Eurasia from Europe east to Siberia. Winters across sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia in wetlands of all kinds.
Song & Call Comparison
African Black Duck
Produces a harsh, resonant quacking call; alarm is a loud, emphatic quack repeated rapidly. Both sexes call with strong quacking; pairs duet with synchronized calls along African rivers.
Garganey
Male produces a distinctive mechanical rattle or craking sound; female gives a subdued quack. The rattling male call is unlike any other teal and immediately diagnostic.
Geographic Range & Migration
African Black Duck
Resident across South and Southeast Asia, from India to southern China and the Philippines. Non-migratory in most of its range.
Garganey
Breeds across the Palearctic; winters from western Europe and North Africa east through South Asia to Southeast Asia.
Conservation Status
African Black Duck
Garganey
How to Tell Them Apart
African Black Duck
Dark blackish-brown plumage with bold white spots on back and scapulars. Iridescent blue-green speculum with white borders. Head dark with pale spots. Bill and legs dark gray. Sexes similar. Fast-flowing …
Garganey
Breeding males have chocolate-brown head with sweeping white supercilium. Blue-gray forewing; green speculum with white border. Gray flanks with white vermiculations. Females brown with white loral stripe.
About These Birds
African Black Duck
A medium-sized dark brown duck with white spots on the back, a dark bill, and orange legs. Found along fast-flowing rocky rivers and streams in Africa. Territorial and monogamous; pairs defend stretches of river. Related to Pacific Black Duck.
Garganey
A small migratory teal. Males are unmistakable with a broad white supercilium, chocolate-brown head, and bluish-grey wing coverts. The only Eurasian duck that is fully migratory, wintering in Africa and South Asia. Breeds across Eurasia; one of the most long-distance migrant ducks.