Puneet Varma (Editor)

White backed duck

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Scientific name
  
Thalassornis leuconotus

Higher classification
  
Thalassornis

Order
  
Anseriformes

Family
  
Anatidae

Phylum
  
Chordata

Rank
  
Species

White-backed duck httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Subfamily
  
Thalassorninae Livezey, 1986

Genus
  
Thalassornis Eyton, 1838

Similar
  
Bird, Anatidae, Spur‑winged goose, African pygmy goose, Red‑billed teal

White backed duck family


The white-backed duck (Thalassornis leuconotus) is a waterbird of the family Anatidae. It is distinct from all other ducks, but most closely related to the whistling ducks in the subfamily Dendrocygninae, though also showing some similarities to the stiff-tailed ducks in the subfamily Oxyurinae. It is the only member of the genus Thalassornis.

Contents

White backed duck and chick


Description

These birds are well adapted for diving. On occasions they have been observed to stay under water for up to half a minute. They search especially for the bulbs of waterlilies, but also seeds and leaves of waterlilies and other water plants and the young feed on lake flies larvae as well. From danger, they also escape preferentially by diving; hence, the namesake white back is hardly visible in life.

Distribution and habitat

White-backed ducks live in southern Africa, especially between Senegal and Chad in the west and Ethiopia and South Africa in the east. Their habitat consists of lakes, ponds, swamps and marshes where they are well camouflaged against predators.

Subspecies

There are two subspecies, Thalassornis leuconotus leuconotus and Thalassornis leuconotus insularis. The latter lives entirely on Madagascar and is considered to be endangered by hunting, habitat loss and the introduction of competing exotic species.

Conservation

The white-backed duck is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Woolaver and Nichols conducted a nesting survey of the Madagascar race in 2001 at Lake Antsamaka in western Madagascar. They found a total of 37, indicating the significance of this single site for the conservation of this insular subspecies. Young, et al. (2006) suggested that an earlier population estimate of 2,500–5,000 total birds in Madagascar by Delany and Scott may be too optimistic. Its African population may be in the range of 10,000 to 25,000 birds.

References

White-backed duck Wikipedia