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The eastern spot-billed duck or Chinese spot-billed duck (''Anas zonorhyncha'') is a species of dabbling duck that breeds in
The eastern spot-billed duck was described by the English biologist Robert Swinhoe in 1866 under its current binomial name ''Anas zonorhyncha''. The name of the genus ''Anas'' is the Latin word for a duck. The specific epithet ''zonorhyncha'' is derived from the classical Greek words ''zōnē'' meaning "band" or "girdle" and ''rhunkhos'' meaning "bill".
Historically, the eastern spot-billed duck was usually considered as a subspecies of the Indian spot-billed duck (''A. poecilorhyncha''). The American ornithologist Bradley Livezey in a morphological study of the dabbling ducks published in 1991 proposed that the eastern spot-billed duck should be promoted to species status. Subsequently, fieldwork conducted at Hong Kong in southern China found that although both the eastern spot-billed duck and the Indian spot-billed duck (subspecies ''A. poecilorhyncha haringtoni'') bred in the region at the same time, mixed pairs were only very rarely observed. Base on this observation, the American Ornithologists' Union recognised the eastern spot-billed duck as a separate species in 2008. Most taxonomists now treat the eastern spot-billed duck as a separate species. There is also some degree of hybridization with the mallard in the wild in eastern Russia with a tendency for a greater ratio of male eastern spot-billed ducks to mate with female mallards than the other way round.
This duck is around the same size as a mallard and has a scaly patterned body with a blue speculum. At rest the long neck and the bill with the yellow tip are distinctive. It measures in length and across the wings, with a body mass of .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . These are mainly grey ducks with a paler head and neck and a black
Karugamo 06a6527sv.jpg, Male (front) and female
File:Anas zonorhyncha family.jpg, Adult with ducklings
Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the eastern spot-billed duck
Bird Research - Eastern Spot-billed Duck
{{Taxonbar , from=Q1268169 Eastern spot-billed duck Birds of East Asia Birds of South Asia Birds of Southeast Asia Eastern spot-billed duck Articles containing video clips
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and Southeast Asia. This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the Indian spot-billed duck
The Indian spot-billed duck (''Anas poecilorhyncha'') is a large dabbling duck that is a non-migratory breeding duck throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the red spot at the base of the bill that is ...
and both were referred to as the spot-billed duck (''A. poecilorhyncha''). The name is derived from the yellow spot on the bill.
Taxonomy
The eastern spot-billed duck was described by the English biologist Robert Swinhoe in 1866 under its current binomial name ''Anas zonorhyncha''. The name of the genus ''Anas'' is the Latin word for a duck. The specific epithet ''zonorhyncha'' is derived from the classical Greek words ''zōnē'' meaning "band" or "girdle" and ''rhunkhos'' meaning "bill".
Historically, the eastern spot-billed duck was usually considered as a subspecies of the Indian spot-billed duck (''A. poecilorhyncha''). The American ornithologist Bradley Livezey in a morphological study of the dabbling ducks published in 1991 proposed that the eastern spot-billed duck should be promoted to species status. Subsequently, fieldwork conducted at Hong Kong in southern China found that although both the eastern spot-billed duck and the Indian spot-billed duck (subspecies ''A. poecilorhyncha haringtoni'') bred in the region at the same time, mixed pairs were only very rarely observed. Base on this observation, the American Ornithologists' Union recognised the eastern spot-billed duck as a separate species in 2008. Most taxonomists now treat the eastern spot-billed duck as a separate species. There is also some degree of hybridization with the mallard in the wild in eastern Russia with a tendency for a greater ratio of male eastern spot-billed ducks to mate with female mallards than the other way round.
Description
This duck is around the same size as a mallard and has a scaly patterned body with a blue speculum. At rest the long neck and the bill with the yellow tip are distinctive. It measures in length and across the wings, with a body mass of .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . These are mainly grey ducks with a paler head and neck and a black bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
tipped bright yellow. The wings are whitish with black flight feathers below, and from above show a white-bordered green. The male does not have an eclipse plumage. Juveniles are browner and duller than adults. The legs and feet are bright orange.
The eastern spot-billed duck is darker and browner than the Indian spot-billed duck; its body plumage is more similar to the Pacific black duck
The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...
. It lacks the red bill spot, and has a blue speculum.
Both males and females undergo a complete postnuptial moult, dropping all their wing feathers simultaneously.
Distribution
The eastern spot-billed duck is migratory, wintering inSoutheast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...
. It is quite gregarious outside the breeding season and forms small flocks. The populations in Japan and the Russian Far East have expanded their range northwards by more than 500 km since the early 20th century, possibly in reaction to global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
.
It is a bird of freshwater lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s and marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
es in fairly open country and feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night. The breeding season varies with rainfall and water condition but normally between April and July. It nests on the ground in vegetation near water. The clutch is usually 7-9 eggs. Incubation begins after the last egg is laid (allowing the chicks to hatch simultaneously) and the young hatch after about 24 days. The chicks are black with a yellow back and resemble those of mallards but with a wider eyestripe.
Both the male and female have calls similar to the mallard, with females producing a loud quack, and males a deeper, quieter sound.
Gallery
References
External links
Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the eastern spot-billed duck
Bird Research - Eastern Spot-billed Duck
{{Taxonbar , from=Q1268169 Eastern spot-billed duck Birds of East Asia Birds of South Asia Birds of Southeast Asia Eastern spot-billed duck Articles containing video clips