Crested Duck - BirdForum Opus

Male, subspecies alticola
Photo © by bievreJJ
Pujsa Salt Flat, Atacama, Chile, October 2012

Lophonetta specularioides

Anas specularioides

Identification

Female on left, male on right, Nominate subspecies
Photo © by Dave Clark
Stanley Harbor, Falkland Islands, January 2012

51–61 cm (20-24 in)

• Large
• Short crest produces a specific head shape when seen from the side
• Pale brown
• Flanks have marbled appearance
• Red iris in nominate, orange to yellow in alticola
• Bill dark gray
• Grey legs
• Wings with white speculum, in front of that a black stripe, and in front of that a violet band

Sexes similar but females are darker than the male.

Distribution

Subspecies alticola
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Abra Pampa, Jujuy Province, Argentina, October 2019

South America: found in Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Lophonetta specularioides has two subspecies:¹

• L. s. alticola

• Andes of Peru and Bolivia to north-western Argentina and Chile

• L. s. specularioides

• Central Chile and Argentina to Tierra del Fuego and Falkland Islands.

Habitat

Ducklings, subspecies alticola
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Yungay, Huascarán National Park, Áncash, Peru, August 2017

Mostly freshwater, lakes and ponds; in the south at sea level but in northern populations in Andean highland wetlands and lakes. Altitudinal migrant in some areas.

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of insects and their larvae, and molluscs. They also eat some plants and algae.

Breeding

They build their nest in shrubs near to water. The clutch contains 5-7 eggs.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3
3. Arthur Grosset
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Sept 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Crested Duck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 11 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Crested_Duck

External Links

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