• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Black-headed Duck - BirdForum Opus

Photo by arthurgrosset
Taim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, August 2004
Heteronetta atricapilla

Identification

Male

  • Head and mantle is black
  • Flank and belly paler

Female - pale brown overall.

Females at front
Photo by Rodrigo Reyes
Mantagua, central Chile, March 2007

Distribution

Lowlands of southern South America: found in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Swamps, lakes and marshes.

Behaviour

Diet

They feed by dabbling; the diet includes water plants and insects.

Breeding

The eggs are laid in the nests of other birds. The hosts are usually Rosy-billed Pochard but the nests of many other ducks, and even gulls or birds of prey are used. The existing clutch remains unharmed. After a 21-day incubation, the ducklings fledge a few hours after hatching immediately becoming completely independent.

References

  1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
  2. Avibase
  3. Answers.com

Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

Back
Top