>Anas falcata (Anas falcata)

Falcated Duck

Falcated Duck
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Subfamily:	Anatinae
Genus:	Anas
Species:	A. falcata
Binomial name
Anas falcata Georgi, 1775

The Falcated Duck or Falcated Teal (Anas falcata) is a Gadwall-sized dabbling duck.

Taxonomy

The closest relative of this species is the Gadwall, followed by the wigeons.

Distribution and habitat

The Falcated duck breeds in eastern Asia. It nests in eastern Russia, in Khabarovsk, Primorskiy,Amur, Chita, Buryatia, Irkutsk, Tuva, eastern Krasnoyarsk, south central Sakha Sakhalin, extreme northeastern North Korea and northern China, in northeastern Inner Mongolia, and northern Heilongjiang, and in northern Japan, Hokkaidō, Aomori, and the Kuril Islands. It is widely recorded well outside its normal range, but the popularity of this beautiful duck in captivity clouds the origins of these extralimital birds.

This dabbling duck is strongly migratory and winters in much of Southeast Asia. In India: Uttar Pradesh, Bihār, Assam, eastern Haryāna. Also in northern Bangladesh, northern and central Myanmar, northern Laos to the Mekong River, northern Vietnam (from about Hanoi north), and China: Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Guangxi Zhuang, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, northern Hunan,Hubei, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, southern Hebei, Shanxi, northern Shaanxi.It is gregarious outside the breeding season and will then form large flocks.

This is a species of lowland wetlands, such as water meadows or lakes, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing. It nests on the ground, near water and under the cover of taller vegetation. The clutch is 6–10 eggs.

Identification

Female Falcated Duck

This is a at 48–54 cm length. The breeding male is unmistakable. Most of the body plumage is finely vermiculated grey, with the long sickle-shaped tertials, which give this species its name, hanging off its back. The large head is dark green with a white throat, and a dark green collar and bronzed crown). The vent region is patterned in yellow, black and white.

The female Falcated Duck is dark brown, with plumage much like a female wigeon. Its long grey bill is an aid to identification. The eclipse male is like the female, but darker on the back and head. In flight both sexes show a pale grey underwing. The blackish speculum is bordered with a white bar on its inner edge. Young birds are buffer than the female and have short tertials.

The male Falcated Duck has a clear low whistle, whereas the female has a gruff "quack".