Amsterdam Duck vs Wandering Whistling-duck

Anas marecula verglichen mit Dendrocygna arcuata

Side-by-Side Comparison

Merkmal Amsterdam Duck Wandering Whistling-duck
Wissenschaftlicher Name Anas marecula Dendrocygna arcuata
Ordnung Anseriformes Anseriformes
Familie Anatidae Anatidae
Erhaltungsstatus Extinct Least Concern
Länge
Flügelspannweite 37,2 cm (14.6 in)
Gewicht 289,5 g (10.21 oz) 779,5 g (27.50 oz)
Ernährung Extinct Auckland Islands Merganser; fed on freshwater fish and aquatic invertebrates in streams; inferred from … Eats grasses, sedges, and aquatic plants in tundra; winter diet of coastal salt marsh grasses …
Gelegegröße -- 6-15
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

Gemeinsame Lebensräume

Amsterdam Duck only

Wandering Whistling-duck only

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Amsterdam Duck

Historically restricted to Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Now extinct. Presumably inhabited the island's freshwater sources and coastal areas.

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.

Song & Call Comparison

Amsterdam Duck

Gesang

Extinct (EX). No recordings exist. As an Anas relative, likely gave a typical duck-like quacking call; male may have had a soft whistled note similar to other island teals.

Wandering Whistling-duck

Gesang

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.

Geographic Range & Migration

Amsterdam Duck

Breeds on sub-Antarctic islands of the South Indian Ocean; disperses across the Southern Ocean when not nesting.

Wandering Whistling-duck

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

Erhaltungsstatus

Extinct

Amsterdam Duck

Least Concern

Wandering Whistling-duck

How to Tell Them Apart

Amsterdam Duck

Gefieder

Extinct Amsterdam Island duck known only from bones and a single historical description. Presumably brown plumage typical of Anas dabbling ducks. Flightless or near-flightless; extirpated by introduced predators.

Wandering Whistling-duck

Gefieder

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.

About These Birds

Amsterdam Duck

An extinct diving duck known from subfossil remains discovered on Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Flightless or nearly flightless; probably resembled the Laysan Duck in size. Went extinct around 1800 following human colonization of the island.

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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