The term perching ducks is used colloquially to mean any

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

distinguished by their readiness to perch high in

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s Until the late 20th century, perching ducks meant ''Cairinini'', a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of ducks in the

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

goose A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...

and

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

family

Anatidae The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating ...

, grouped together on the basis of their readiness to perch high in

s. It has been subsequently shown that the grouping is

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

and their apparent similarity results from

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

, with the different members more closely related to various other ducks than to each other. Perching duck species include: Plectropterinae *

Spur-winged goose The spur-winged goose (''Plectropterus gambensis'') is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, th ...

''Plectropterus gambensis''

Tadorninae The Tadorninae is the shelduck-sheldgoose subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the geese and swans. This group is largely tropical or Southern Hemisphere in distribution, w ...

Salvadori's teal Salvadori's teal (''Salvadorina waigiuensis'') or Salvadori's duck, is a species of bird endemic to New Guinea. It is placed in the monotypic genus ''Salvadorina''. It has a dark brown head and neck, and its body is barred and spotted dark brown ...

''Salvadorina waigiuensis'' (initially placed in Anatinae) *

Blue duck The blue duck or whio (''Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae endemic to New Zealand. It is the only member of the genus ''Hymenolaimus''. Its exact taxonomic status is still unresolved, but ...

''Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos'' *

Torrent duck The torrent duck (''Merganetta armata'') is a member of the duck, goose and swan family Anatidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Merganetta''. It is placed in the shelduck subfamily Tadorninae after the "perching duck" assemblage to which ...

''Merganetta armata''

Anatinae The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae (swans, geese and ducks). Its surviving members are the dabbling ducks, which feed mainly at the surface rather than by diving. The other members of the Anatinae are the extinct moa-nalo, a you ...

Brazilian teal The Brazilian teal or Brazilian duck (''Amazonetta brasiliensis'') is the only duck in the genus ''Amazonetta''. It is widely distributed in eastern South America. Taxonomy The Brazilian teal was formally described in 1789 by the German natura ...

''Amazonetta brasiliensis'' Species that were formally in the Cairdinini tribe, and do not have an identified current subfamily include: *

Comb duck The comb duck or American comb duck (''Sarkidiornis sylvicola''), is an unusual duck, found in tropical wetlands in continental South America south to the Paraguay River region in eastern Paraguay, southeastern Brazil and extreme northeastern Ar ...

''Sarkidiornis melanotos'': Tadorninae or basal Anatinae? *

Pink-eared duck The pink-eared duck (''Malacorhynchus membranaceus'') is a species of duck found in Australia. It has a large spatulate bill like the Australasian shoveler, but is smaller at 38–40 cm length. Its brown back and crown, black and white barr ...

''Malacorhynchus membranaceus'': Tadorninae or

Oxyurinae The Oxyurini are a tribe of the duck subfamily of birds, the Anatinae. It has been subject of considerable debate about its validity and circumscription. Some taxonomic authorities place the group in its own subfamily, the ''Oxyurinae''. Most of ...

? * Hartlaub's duck ''Pteronetta hartlaubi'': Anatinae or a very distinct clade? *

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 ...

''Nettapus pulchellus'': Anatinae or a

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...

n clade? *

Cotton pygmy goose The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal (''Nettapus coromandelianus'') is a small perching duck which breeds in Asia, Southeast Asia extending south and east to Queensland where they are sometimes called white-quilled pygmy goose. They are among t ...

''Nettapus coromandellanus'': Anatinae or a Gondwanan clade? *

African pygmy goose The African pygmy goose (''Nettapus auritus'') is a perching duck from sub-Saharan Africa. It is the smallest of Africa's waterfowl, and one of the smallest in the world. Though pygmy geese have beaks like those of geese, they are more relat ...

''Nettapusre auritus'': Anatinae or a Gondwanan clade? *

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a large duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United Sta ...

''Cairina moschata'': Anatinae or Tadorninae? *

White-winged duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cyt ...

''Cairina scutulata'': Anatinae or closer to Aythyinae? *

Wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...

''Aix sponsa'': Anatinae or Tadorninae? *

Mandarin duck The mandarin duck (''Aix galericulata'') is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is medium-sized, at long with a wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus ''Aix''. ...

''Aix galericulata'': Anatinae or Tadorninae? * Ringed teal ''Callonetta leucophrys'': Anatinae or Tadorninae? *

Maned duck The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose (''Chenonetta jubata'') is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus '' Chenonetta''. Traditionally placed in the subfamily Anatinae (dabbli ...

''Chenonetta jubata'': Anatinae or Tadorninae?

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite journal, author1=Johnson, Kevin P. , author2=Sorenson, Michael D. , name-list-style=amp , year=1999, title= Phylogeny and biogeography of dabbling ducks (genus ''Anas''): a comparison of molecular and morphological evidence, journal=

Auk An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...

, volume=116, issue=3, pages= 792–805, url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v116n03/p0792-p0805.pdf, doi=10.2307/4089339 {{cite journal, author=Livezey, Bradley C. , year=1986, title= A phylogenetic analysis of recent anseriform genera using morphological characters, journal=

, volume=103, issue=4, pages= 737–754, url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v103n04/p0737-p0754.pdf {{cite journal, author1=Sraml, M. , author2=Christidis, L. , author3=Easteal, S. , author4=Horn, P. , author5=Collet, C. , name-list-style=amp , year=1996, title= Molecular Relationships Within Australasian Waterfowl (Anseriformes), journal=Australian Journal of Zoology, volume=44, issue=1, pages= 47–58, doi=10.1071/ZO9960047 Anatidae Obsolete bird taxa Bird common names