Sunda Teal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| Anas gibberifrons Müller, 1842 |
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
|
The Sunda Teal, Anas gibberifrons is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in the Andaman Islands and Indonesia.
This is a mottled brown duck with white and green flashes on its wings. The male and female Sunda Teal share the same colouration, in contrast to the related Chestnut Teal, whose male and female are strikingly different. The nominate Sunda Teal has almost identical colouration to the female Chestnut Teal and can only be distinguished by its lighter coloured neck, paler face and especially the bulging forehead. The Andaman Teal has a variable amount of white on the forehead and around the eyes. The Rennell Island Teal looked like a smaller version of the nominate subspecies, with a stubbier bill. Juveniles are paler than adults, especially on the head.
The Sunda Teal nests near its favoured freshwater lakes and marshes, usually on the ground, but also in tree holes or rabbit burrows.
This is a vocal duck, especially at night. The male gives a soft preep, and the female has a loud quack.
Two subspecies are extant, and one extinct:
- Sunda Teal A. g. gibberifrons, occurs in central and southern Indonesia
- Andaman Teal A. g. albogularis, occurs in the Andaman Islands
- Rennell Island Teal A. g. remissa, formerly found on Rennell Island in the Solomons.
The Grey Teal, Anas gracilis was formerly considered to belong into this species.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Anas gibberifrons. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Wildfowl by Madge and Burn, ISBN 0-7470-2201-1
