| Andaman teal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration by Keulemans (1908) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Anas |
| Species: | A. albogularis |
| Binomial name | |
| Anas albogularis (Hume, 1873) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Mareca albogularisHume, 1873 Contents | |
The Andaman teal (Anas albogularis) is a species of duck endemic to the Andaman archipelago in the Bay of Bengal. The species was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Sunda teal.
The first formal description of the Andaman teal was by the English ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume in 1873 under the binomial name Mareca albogularis. [3] It is now placed with many other dabbling ducks in the genus Anas . [4] It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Sunda teal (Anas gibberifrons) that is found in Indonesia. [4]
The species is dark brown with buffy markings. The face and throat are pale with a white ring around the eye. The bill is bluish grey and the iris is red. [5]
Andaman teals are endemic to the Andaman Islands (India) and Great Coco Island (Burma). They are found in inland pools as well as mangroves and lagoons. [6] [7] A population estimate of 500 to 600 individuals was made in a survey conducted in 1995–98, and 674 were counted in 2005. [8] Their population has been on the increase for the last few decades, and was most recently estimated in 2014 to have slightly more than 1,000 individuals. [1]
They feed at night in rice fields. The breeding season is July to October and nests in reed patches. The nest is made of grass and about nine eggs forms the clutch. [9] They were formerly considered to breed in tree hollows but recent studies found no evidence. They feed mainly on molluscs and arthropods. [8]
The gadwall is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.
Hume's leaf warbler or Hume's warbler is a small leaf warbler which breeds in the mountains of inner Asia. This warbler is migratory and winters mainly in India.
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The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal 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 the smallest waterfowl in the world and are found in small to large waterbodies with good aquatic vegetation. They are usually seen in pairs or larger groups of pairs, roosting and nesting on trees near water. They are strong fliers and are known to disperse widely, especially in winter. Their breeding season coincides with the rains.
The lesser whistling duck, also known as Indian whistling duck or lesser whistling teal, is a species of whistling duck that breeds in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They are nocturnal feeders that during the day may be found in flocks around lakes and wet paddy fields. They can perch on trees and sometimes build their nest in the hollow of a tree. This brown and long-necked duck has broad wings that are visible in flight and produces a loud two-note wheezy call. It has a chestnut rump, differentiating it from its larger relative, the fulvous whistling duck, which has a creamy white rump.
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The Indian white-eye, formerly the Oriental white-eye, is a small species of passerine bird in the white-eye family. It is a resident breeder in open woodland on the Indian subcontinent. They forage in small groups, feeding on nectar and small insects. They are easily identified by the distinctive white eye-ring and overall yellowish upperparts. The range previously extended eastwards to Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Their name was recently changed due to previous members of Zosterops palpebrosus in Southeast Asia being renamed to a new species, making the Indian White-eye a more geographically accurate term for this species.
The black-rumped flameback, also known as the lesser golden-backed woodpecker or lesser goldenback, is a woodpecker found widely distributed in the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the few woodpeckers that are seen in urban areas. It has a characteristic rattling-whinnying call and an undulating flight. It is the only golden-backed woodpecker with a black throat and a black rump.
The yellow-billed babbler is a member of the family Leiothrichidae endemic to southern India and Sri Lanka. The yellow-billed babbler is a common resident breeding bird in Sri Lanka and southern India. Its habitat is scrub, cultivation and garden land. This species, like most babblers, is not migratory, and has short rounded wings and a weak flight and is usually seen calling and foraging in groups. It is often mistaken for the jungle babbler, whose range overlaps in parts of southern India, although it has a distinctive call and tends to be found in more vegetated habitats. Its name is also confused with Turdoides leucocephala, which is also known as white-headed babbler.
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The Oriental magpie-robin is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, but now considered an Old World flycatcher. They are distinctive black and white birds with a long tail that is held upright as they forage on the ground or perch conspicuously. Occurring across most of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Southeast Asia, they are common birds in urban gardens as well as forests. They are particularly well known for their songs and were once popular as cagebirds.
The thick-billed flowerpecker is a tiny bird in the flowerpecker group. They feed predominantly on fruits and are active birds that are mainly seen in the tops of trees in forests. It is a resident bird with a wide distribution across tropical southern Asia from India east to Indonesia and Timor with several populations recognized as subspecies some of which are sometimes treated as full species.
The chestnut teal is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
The pink-headed duck is a large diving duck that was once found in parts of the Gangetic plains of India, Nepal, parts of Maharashtra, Bangladesh and in the riverine swamps of Myanmar but has been feared extinct since the 1950s. Numerous searches have failed to provide any proof of continued existence. It has been suggested that it may exist in the inaccessible swamp regions of northern Myanmar and some sight reports from that region have led to its status being declared as "Critically Endangered" rather than extinct. The genus placement has been disputed and while some have suggested that it is close to the red-crested pochard, others have placed it in a separate genus of its own. It is unique in the pink colouration of the head combined with a dark body. A prominent wing patch and the long slender neck are features shared with the common Indian spot-billed duck. The eggs have also been held as particularly peculiar in being nearly spherical.
The Sunda teal, also known as the Bebek cokelat or Itik benjut, is a dabbling duck found in open wetlands in Indonesia. The species formerly included the Andaman teal Anas albogularis and the grey teal, Anas gracilis as subspecies, but is currently considered monotypic.
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Ernest Herbert Newton Lowther was a British Indian railways engineer, an ornithologist, and a pioneer of bird photography in India. During his travels across India, he studied the life of birds and began to document their breeding behavior using nest photography. He co-wrote on the breeding birds of Kashmir and wrote on his own experiences as well as the history of bird photography in India.
