The green pygmy goose (''Nettapus pulchellus'') is a small

perching duck The term perching ducks is used colloquially to mean any species of ducks distinguished by their readiness to perch high in trees Until the late 20th century, perching ducks meant ''Cairinini'', a tribe of ducks in the duck, goose and swan family ...

which breeds in southern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.Alpher, Barry. 2004. Pama-Nyungan: Phonological Reconstruction and Status as a Phylo-Genetic Group. In Claire Bowern and Harold Koch (eds.), ''Australian Languages: Classification and the Comparative Method'', 93-126, 387-574. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Taxonomy

First described in 1842 by the ornithologist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

, its specific name is derived from diminutive of the Latin adjective ''pulcher'' "pretty". It is one of three species in the Afro-Asian genus ''

Nettapus The pygmy geese are a group of very small "perching ducks" in the genus ''Nettapus'' which breed in the Old World tropics. They are the smallest of all wildfowl. As the "perching ducks" are a paraphyletic group, they need to be placed elsewhere. ...

'', an ancient and unusual group of ducks. No subspecies are recognised.

Description

Ranging from in length, the green pygmy goose is one of the smallest species of duck. It has a wingspan. It has a small bill and a compact form. The breeding male has a predominantly dark green back and neck, and a dark gray crown. The cheeks are white, and the underparts are pale grey and white scalloped. The tail, primary flight feathers and primary

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are sm ...

are black, while the secondary flight feathers are white. The secondary coverts are a dark iridescent green. This iridescence is lost outside of the breeding season and the plumage becomes duller. The species exhibits a degree of

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

— the female has a barred rather than green neck but otherwise resembles the non-breeding male. Immature birds are less brightly coloured, and have mottled dark brown heads. The male has a high-pitched whistle and the female a lower-pitched call.

Distribution

The green pygmy goose is found in southern New Guinea and across northern Australia (from Western Australia, through

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

and into

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

). To the west, it commonly reaches

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

, where it possibly breeds at Lake Iralalara. It is largely resident, apart from dispersion in the wet season. The habitat is well-vegetated lowland lagoons and other permanent fresh waters.

Breeding

The green pygmy goose nests in tree hollows. Eight to twelve eggs are laid and the incubation period is 26 days.

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q783165

green pygmy goose The green pygmy goose (''Nettapus pulchellus'') is a small perching duck which breeds in southern New Guinea and northern Australia.Alpher, Barry. 2004. Pama-Nyungan: Phonological Reconstruction and Status as a Phylo-Genetic Group. In Claire Bowe ...

Birds of New Guinea Birds of the Northern Territory Birds of Queensland Birds described in 1842