The Indian spot-billed duck is a big, mallard-sized , named for the red spot at the base of the bill in males from India and Sri Lanka. It lives in freshwater wetlands of South and Southeast Asia and southern China, and isn't found in the wild in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 22–25 in (55–63 cm) long. Black bill with a yellow tip; males in India and Sri Lanka have a red spot at the bill base, which is faint or missing in females. In flight it shows a green with a broad white band, and on the water white feathers form a stripe along the side.
Look-alikes
Mallard (female)Anas platyrhynchos
A female mallard is mottled brown all over, with an orange-and-brown bill and a purple-blue speculum edged in white on both sides. The spot-billed duck has a black bill with a yellow tip and a green speculum.
Why they get mixed upBoth are brownish ducks of about the same size.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Freshwater lakes
- Marshes
- Rice fields
- Range
- Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka east to Myanmar, southern China, and Laos.
- Seasonal presence
- Mostly resident, though some birds migrate.
- Preferred conditions
- Prefers medium-sized wetlands with plenty of plants over large open lakes.
Behavior
- Diet
- Mostly plants, including crops such as rice, plus snails and other small invertebrates.
- Activity
- Feeds mainly in the evening and at night.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Timed by the rains: July–September in northern India, November–December in the south. Pairs may raise more than one brood.
- Nest
- On the ground in vegetation near water, occasionally on vine-covered tree branches.
- Clutch size
- 8–14 eggs
- Incubation
- About 24 days
Name and classification
- About the name
- It used to include the eastern spot-billed duck of East Asia. After a 2006 field study in Hong Kong found the two rarely paired with each other, most authorities now treat them as separate species. Two subspecies remain: the red-spotted Indian form (A. p. poecilorhyncha) and the Burmese spot-billed duck (A. p. haringtoni) of Myanmar to southern China, which has a smaller spot or none.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
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