The Eastern Spot-billed Duck is an East Asian duck of lakes, wetlands, and rice fields. Its pale face and black bill with a yellow tip help distinguish it from a female Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 22–25 in (55–63 cm) long, it has a pale face, blue wing patch, orange legs, and a black bill with a yellow tip. Males and females look much alike.
Look-alikes
MallardAnas platyrhynchos
A female Mallard can also look brown, but the spot-billed duck has a black bill with a bright yellow tip. Check several features if the bird looks mixed.
Why they get mixed upBoth are large brown ducks in the Aleutian region.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Freshwater lakes
- Marshes
- Rivers
- Rice fields
- Range
- It breeds in East Asia, including Korea, Japan, China, and the Russian Far East. In the United States, it is a rare accidental visitor to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
- Seasonal presence
- Some East Asian populations stay year-round, while northern birds move south for winter.
Behavior
- Diet
- In East Asia it eats mostly plant food, feeding at the water’s surface, often in the evening or at night.
Name and classification
- About the name
- It was formerly treated as the eastern of the Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha). It is also called the Chinese spot-billed duck.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- The name “spot-billed” points to the yellow mark near the tip of its bill.