| Flying steamer duck | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Tachyeres |
| Species: | T. patachonicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Tachyeres patachonicus (King, 1831) | |
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| Distribution map for flying steamer ducks (T. patachonicus) | |
The flying steamer duck (Tachyeres patachonicus), also known as the flying steamer-duck or flying steamerduck, is a species of South American duck in the family Anatidae.
The flying steamer duck is one of four steamer ducks, in the genus Tachyeres, which also includes the Fuegian steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres), the Chubut steamer duck (Tachyeres leucocephalus), and the Falkland steamer duck (Tachyeres brachypterus). The steamer ducks are named for their method of mobility, as the manner in which they use wings and feet to paddle across the water resembles an old-time steam boat. [2] The steamer ducks are members of the Southern Hemisphere shelducks clade Tadorninae. [3] The three flightless species are monophyletic, with the flying steamer ducks splitting off phylogenetically. [3] It is the only steamer duck which can fly, and the only one to occur on inland fresh waters. [3] However, some individual male flying steamer ducks within the species are incapable of flight due to excessive size and *wing loadings. [3]
Though they are the smallest of the four Tachyeres species, flying steamer ducks share similar plumage traits with other steamer ducks including brown head and neck feathers with white stripes stretching from their eyes to the napes of their necks, and brown-gray gradient body feathers. [4] Their underbellies are mostly white, and their feet are orange. [4] Female flying steamer ducks have smaller bills relative to males that are orange with black tips, while males have darker gray bills with slight yellow accents. [4] Flying steamer ducks are also sexually dimorphic to the extent that males are heavier but have smaller cranial elements and wingspans than females. [4] Males and females both possess cornified orange carpal knobs on the proximal part of the carpometacarpus bone, and these knobs are used in display as well as interspecies and intraspecies combat by males. [5]
Sexual dimorphism can also be observed in the duration and pitch of their various calls, which sound much like grunts. [2] The females’ grunts have been described as lower pitched than the males’ grunts, and usually occur in rapid succession of similar pitch. [2] Males have three distinct grunts that have been described as whistle-like, including a ‘rasping’ grunt, a ‘ticking’ grunt, and a ‘sibilant’ grunt. [2]
Flying steamer ducks undergo three molts per annual cycle, and these molts vary widely with geographic location. [6] The wear and degradation on the primary and secondary feathers of observed flying steamer ducks varies depending on the location and flight behavior of the individuals. [6]
Flying steamer ducks inhabit aquatic areas at the southern tip of South America, specifically Chile and Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands. [7] Genetic comparisons of Falkland Island steamer ducks suggest the species diverged from continental steamer duck species between 2.2 and 2.6 million years ago, coinciding with a proposed land bridge that may have once connected the Falkland Islands to the mainland. [8] The three steamer duck species that inhabit the mainland share a common ancestor roughly 15,000 years ago, and the species show genetic differentiation as well as different stages between flightless-ness and flying ability. [8] For this reason, steamer ducks have been praised as an excellent potential genus for studying the evolution of flightless-ness in birds. [8] Flying steamer ducks are widely distributed compared to other steamer duck species, likely due to their flying ability, and have been observed to reside in both freshwater and marine environments throughout Chile, Argentina, and the Falkland Islands. [9]
Little is known about the breeding rituals of flying steamer ducks. They are thought to be mostly monogamous and spend much of their time together in pairs. [2] They engage in highly ritualized mating, in which the male and female begin by dipping their bills into the water at increasingly fast paces before the female submerges almost completely into the water and is mounted by the male, after which the female and male raise their bills high into the air in a hostile fashion and grunt audibly. [2]
Both flightless and flying steamer ducks engage in foraging behaviors with interspecific and intersexual differences. [10] Flying steamer ducks have almost exclusively been observed to forage in pairs, preferring to dive either around deep-water kelp beds or around shallow water zones. [10] Males and females do not show consistencies among pairs in terms of who is the first to dive, but within pairs the first to dive is consistent in all observed diving instances. [10] Flying steamer ducks share dietary preferences with other steamer duck species and have been reported to feed on mollusks and crustaceans as well as other marine invertebrates, but little is known about the precise species that steamer ducks prey on. [11]
Both flying steamer ducks and flightless steamer ducks experience nest predation by various avian and mammalian predators, including Chimango Caracaras, *Crested Caracaras, the Fuegian Culpeo Fox, and the introduced American mink. [12] Besides nest predators, flying steamer ducks are threatened only by competition for resources. [13] Both the males and females are notoriously pugnacious and have been described as intensely territorial and often unnecessarily aggressive towards other individuals and other species, regardless of whether or not that species poses a threat to or lives in competition with the flying steamer ducks. [13] Flying steamer ducks have been observed to target entire flocks of Silvery grebes and Hooded grebes and have also been observed to kill Red shovelers for seemingly no apparent reason. [5] Male flying steamer ducks attack by grabbing their opponents by the neck and hitting their opponents on the head, neck or body using their carpal wing knobs. [5]
The flying steamer ducks are not an endangered species and are categorized as a Least Concern species, however increased nest predation of flightless steamer duck nests by American minks was reported to be a potential future threat to duck populations in Tierra del Fuego wildlife areas. [12]
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 taxon; they do not represent a monophyletic group, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.
The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae. 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 young but highly apomorphic lineage derived from the dabbling ducks.
The gadwall is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.
The redhead is a medium-sized diving duck. The scientific name is derived from Greek aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin americana, of America. The redhead is 37 cm (15 in) long with an 84 cm (33 in) wingspan. Redhead weight ranges from 2.0 to 2.5 lbs, with males weighing an average of 2.4 lbs and females weighing an average of 2.1 lbs. It belongs to the genus Aythya, together with 11 other described species. The redhead and the common pochard form a sister group which together is sister to the canvasback.
Barrow's goldeneye is a medium-sized sea duck of the genus Bucephala, the goldeneyes. This bird was named after Sir John Barrow. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek boukephalos, "bullheaded", from bous, "bull" and kephale, "head", a reference to the bulbous head shape of the bufflehead. The species name islandica means Iceland.
The surf scoter is a large sea duck native to North America. Adult males are almost entirely black with characteristic white patches on the forehead and the nape and adult females are slightly smaller and browner. Surf scoters breed in Northern Canada and Alaska and winter along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America. Those diving ducks mainly feed on benthic invertebrates, mussels representing an important part of their diet.
Steller's eider is a migrating Arctic diving duck that breeds along the coastlines of eastern Russia and Alaska. It is the rarest, smallest, and fastest flying of the eider species.
The yellow-billed duck is a 51–58 cm long dabbling duck which is an abundant resident breeder in southern and eastern Africa. This duck is not migratory, but wanders in the dry season to find suitable waters. It is highly gregarious outside the breeding season and forms large flocks.
The knob-billed duck, or African comb duck, is a type of duck found along the tropical/sub-tropical wetlands and waterways of Sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Madagascar, as well as most of South Asia and mainland Indochina.
The rosy-billed pochard, alternatively named rosybill or rosybill pochard, is a member of family Anatidae. Though classified as a diving duck, this pochard feeds more like a dabbling duck feeding on seeds roots, sedges, aquatic plants and other grasses. Netta is Ancient Greek for "duck" and peposaca is a transcription of the Guaraní name of this species which means "showy wings", referring to the broad white stripe that is only visible with stretched out wings. Male characteristic features include a bright red bill with a rounded knob at the base.
The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose 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, it might belong to the subfamily Tadorninae (shelducks); the ringed teal may be its closest living relative.
Flightless birds are birds that, through evolution, lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well-known ratites and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the Inaccessible Island rail. The largest flightless bird, which is also the largest living bird in general, is the ostrich.
The spotted whistling duck is a member of the duck family Anatidae. It is also referred to as the "spotted tree duck". This duck can be found in Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia and the Philippines. Spotted ducks are also held in captive populations.
The Fuegian steamer duck or the Magellanic flightless steamer duck, is a flightless duck native to South America. It belongs to the steamer duck genus Tachyeres. It inhabits the rocky coasts and coastal islands from southern Chile and Chiloé to Tierra del Fuego, switching to the adjacent sheltered bays and lakes further inland when breeding.
The Chubut steamer duck or white-headed flightless steamer duck is a flightless duck endemic to Argentina.
The Falkland steamer duck is a species of flightless duck found on the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. The steamer ducks get their name from their unconventional swimming behaviour in which they flap their wings and feet on the water in a motion reminiscent of an old paddle steamer. The Falkland steamer duck is one of only two bird species endemic to the Falkland Islands, the other being Cobb's wren.
The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus Cairina with the Muscovy duck and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence analysis indicate that the anatomical similarity to the Muscovy duck is deceiving and that the species is appropriately placed in a monotypic genus, as Asarcornis scutulata, which is evolutionarily closer to the redhead.
The steamer ducks are a genus (Tachyeres) of ducks in the family Anatidae. All of the four species occur at the southern cone of South America in Chile and Argentina, and all except the flying steamer duck are flightless; even this one species capable of flight rarely takes to the air. They can be aggressive and are capable of chasing off predators like petrels. Bloody battles of steamer ducks with each other over territory disputes are observed in nature. They even kill waterbirds that are several times their size.
The Hispaniolan woodpecker is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
Philip Strong Humphrey was an ornithologist, museum curator, and professor of zoology.
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