Knob-billed Duck - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Alok Tewari
Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India, July 2015

Sarkidiornis melanotos

Alternative name: African Comb Duck

Identification

Male
Photo © by Rakesh
Pashan Pune, India, March 2007

55–63 cm (21-25)

• Glossy blue black upperparts
• White underparts
• Blue and green iridescent secondaries
• White head with dark spots
• White neck
  

Male - larger with large black knob on the bill
Juvenile

• Dull buff underparts, face and neck
• Dull brown upperparts, crown and eyestripe

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, south Asia, Pakistan, Laos and extreme southern China.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species¹.
Formerly considered conspecific with Comb Duck from South America.

Habitat

Wetlands, freshwater swamps, rice fields and lakes.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet for both subspecies is mostly vegetarian, with grass, seeds and rice grain; supplemented with small fish and invertebrates.

Breeding

They nest in tree holes and tall grass. The nest is lined with reeds, grass, or feathers. 7-15 yellowish-white eggs are laid; incubated by the female for about 30 days.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Knob-billed Duck. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Knob-billed_Duck

External Links

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