🐦

Meller's Duck

Anas melleri

Endangered
Envergadura
49,1 cm
Peso
1023,625 g
Família
Anatidae
Ordem
Anseriformes

Sobre

A large brown dabbling duck resembling a female Mallard but larger, with green iridescent speculum and orange bill. Endemic to Madagascar. Endangered; threatened by hunting and wetland loss. One of Madagascar's rarest birds.

Physical Description

Measurement Value Imperial
Envergadura 49,1 cm 19.3 in
Peso 1023,625 g 36.11 oz

Identificação

Plumagem

Dark brown-olive plumage streaked and mottled with pale buff; resembles large dark Mallard without green head. Iridescent green speculum with white borders. Yellow-brown bill; orange legs. Madagascar endemic.

Habitat & Range

Freshwater lakes, marshes, rivers, and rice paddies in the eastern highlands and north of Madagascar. Prefers undisturbed native forest wetlands. Endangered by hunting and habitat conversion.

Distribuição geográfica

Resident in wetlands and lakes from Turkey and Egypt through East Africa to the Cape. Non-migratory and widely distributed.

Diet & Feeding

Dives for fish and aquatic invertebrates in fast-flowing rivers; serrated bill grips slippery fish; diet peaks in fish year-round.

Estado de conservação

Endangered
IUCN Red List

Comportamento e reprodução

Nidificação

Incubation: 28-29 days. Fledging: 63-77 days.

Tamanho da postura

5-11

Som

Canto

Female produces a loud, resonant quacking sequence; male gives a soft, nasal grunt. This large Malagasy duck vocalizes with powerful quacking calls along forest rivers and marshes.

Taxonomia

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Ordem Anseriformes (Waterfowl)
Família Anatidae (Ducks, Geese & Swans)
Genus Anas
Espécies Anas melleri

Distribution

Meller's Duck has been recorded in 1 countries.

{# Distribution Map — simplified SVG world map with highlighted countries. Expects `country_codes` variable: list of ISO alpha-2 codes (e.g. ["US", "CA", "MX"]). Uses Alpine.js to toggle classes on country paths. #}
Presente Not recorded
{# Simplified country/region shapes — major landmasses with ISO alpha-2 data attributes. These are simplified polygon representations for visual distribution display. #}

countries highlighted

External Databases

Perguntas frequentes

What does the Meller's Duck eat?
Dives for fish and aquatic invertebrates in fast-flowing rivers; serrated bill grips slippery fish; diet peaks in fish year-round.
Where does the Meller's Duck live?
Freshwater lakes, marshes, rivers, and rice paddies in the eastern highlands and north of Madagascar. Prefers undisturbed native forest wetlands. Endangered by hunting and habitat conversion.
Is the Meller's Duck endangered?
The Meller's Duck has a conservation status of Endangered.
How does the Meller's Duck nest?
Incubation: 28-29 days. Fledging: 63-77 days.
What does the Meller's Duck sound like?
Female produces a loud, resonant quacking sequence; male gives a soft, nasal grunt. This large Malagasy duck vocalizes with powerful quacking calls along forest rivers and marshes.
How big is the Meller's Duck?
The Meller's Duck has a wingspan of 49.1 cm, weight of 1023.625 g.
What order and family does the Meller's Duck belong to?
The Meller's Duck (Anas melleri) belongs to the order Anseriformes and the family Anatidae.

Similar Birds

Other species in the Anatidae family

Comparar

Explore More

Explore the Nature FYI Family