Ecology and behavior
The diet of the Philippine duck includes plants, rice, molluscs and crustaceans. It is also reported to also feed fish, froggs and insects. It is reported to be a pest in farms as they supposedly damage newly sown fields and germinating seeds. This species is more active in the early morning, evening and bright moonlit nights. Typically seen in pairs or small groups but flocks of up to 2,000 have been seen, possibly even larger before this species was heavily hunted. It is seen associating with other ducks including Wandering whistling duck, Garganey, Northern shoveler, Eurasian wigeon and Tufted duck.
Not much is known about its breeding habits in the wild. Nests found were well concealed with 10 eggs. Breeding season is believed to be March to November with the peak in July to August. Incubation takes 25 to 27 days and only the female incubates. Fledging occurs at around 8 weeks. [6]
Conservation status
The Philippine duck is rated vulnerable on the IUCN Red List with the population estimated to be 3,300 - 6,700 mature individuals remaining. The species has experienced steep population decreases since the 1970s mainly due to hunting and habitat loss. The ducks have been heavily hunted since the 1960s with thousands being hunted a year through the late 1980s. [5]
Habitat loss is mainly due to wetland drainage, aquaculture, mangrove destruction and fishpond creation. [3]
The species occurs in multiple protected areas including Manleluag Spring Protected Landscape, Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park, Naujan Lake National Park, Bataan National Park, Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park and Olango Island, a Ramsar wetland. However, as is with most of the Philippines enforcement from hunting is lax.
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 pintail or northern pintail is a duck species with wide geographic distribution that breeds in the northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and North America. It is migratory and winters south of its breeding range to the equator. Unusually for a bird with such a large range, it has no geographical subspecies if the possibly conspecific duck Eaton's pintail is considered to be a separate species.
The Eurasian teal, common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only one of these small dabbling ducks in much of its range. The bird gives its name to the blue-green colour teal.
The green-winged teal or American teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered conspecific with the Eurasian teal for some time, but the two have since been split into separate species. The American Ornithological Society continues to debate this determination; however, nearly all other authorities consider it distinct based on behavioral, morphological, and molecular evidence. The scientific name is from Latin Anas, "duck" and carolinensis, "of Carolina".
The American black duck is a large dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. It was described by William Brewster in 1902. It is the heaviest species in the genus Anas, weighing 720–1,640 g (1.59–3.62 lb) on average and measuring 54–59 cm (21–23 in) in length with an 88–95 cm (35–37 in) wingspan. It somewhat resembles the female and eclipse male mallard in coloration, but has a darker plumage. The male and female are generally similar in appearance, but the male's bill is yellow while the female's is dull green with dark marks on the upper mandible. It is native to eastern North America. During the breeding season, it is usually found in coastal and freshwater wetlands from Saskatchewan to the Atlantic in Canada and the Great Lakes and the Adirondacks in the United States. It is a partially migratory species, mostly wintering in the east-central United States, especially in coastal areas.
The mottled duck or mottled mallard is a medium-sized species of dabbling duck. It is intermediate in appearance between the female mallard and the American black duck. It is closely related to those species, and is sometimes erroneously considered a subspecies of the former.
The West Indian whistling duck is a whistling duck that breeds in the Caribbean. Alternative names are black-billed whistling duck and Cuban whistling duck.
The falcated duck or falcated teal is a gadwall-sized dabbling duck from the east Palearctic.
The Luzon bleeding-heart, bleeding-heart dove, bleeding-heart pigeon or punay is a species of ground dove in the genus Gallicolumba, known as "bleeding-hearts" due to their distinctive red patch on its chest. It was also known as paloma de punalada 'stabbed pigeon' but is nowadays more commonly referred to as just punalada. The Luzon bleeding-heart is the species in which the "blood" feature is most pronounced, while the Mindanao bleeding-heart does have a larger red patch, the Luzon bleeding-heart has a reddish hue extending down the belly, furthering the illusion of a blood stain. It is threatened by habitat loss and hunting for the pet trade and for meat.
The Mindanao hornbill, also known as the Mindanao tarictic hornbill, is a medium-small species of hornbill found in the canopy of rainforests on Mindanao, Dinagat, Siargao and Basilan in the southern Philippines. All five Philippine tarictics were once considered a single species. Its population declining due to habitat destruction, hunting and the illegal wildlife trade.
The yellow-billed teal is a South American species of duck. Like other teals, it belongs to the diverse genus Anas; more precisely it is one of the "true" teals of subgenus Nettion. It occurs in Argentina, the Falkland Islands, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Brazil. It has also established itself in South Georgia, where it was first recorded breeding in 1971, and has been recorded as far east as Tristan da Cunha. It inhabits freshwater wetlands, preferring palustrine habitat to rivers. Considering its wide range and local abundance, it is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
The blue-billed teal, spotted teal or Hottentot teal is a species of dabbling duck of the genus Spatula. It is migratory resident in eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia west to Niger and Nigeria and south to South Africa and Namibia. In west Africa and Madagascar it is sedentary.
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 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.
The Maccoa duck is a stiff-tailed diving duck found across Eastern and Southern Africa.
The Philippine megapode, also known as the Philippine scrubfowl or the Tabon scrubfowl, is a species of bird in the family Megapodiidae. It is found in the Philippines, northeastern Borneo, and Sulawesi. It has a wide range of natural habitats which include tropical dry forest, tropical moist lowland forest, tropical moist montane forest and small islands. The species was named after the collector Hugh Cuming.
The Samar hornbill is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is found in forests on the islands of Samar, Calicoan, Leyte and Bohol in the east-central Philippines. As is the case with all Philippine tarictic hornbills, it has been considered a subspecies of Visayan hornbill Alternatively, it is considered a subspecies of Mindanao hornbill.
The spotted buttonquail is a species of bird in the family Turnicidae. It is endemic to Philippines on the island of Luzon.
The Philippine green pigeon is a pigeon in the genus Treron. It is endemic to the Philippines where it lives in the tropical moist lowland forests. It is part of the pompadour green pigeon complex which it was once conspecific with.
The Andean teal is a South American species of duck. Like other teals, it belongs to the diverse genus Anas; more precisely it is one of the "true" teals of subgenus Nettion. It is restricted to the Andean highlands of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It inhabits freshwater wetlands, preferring palustrine habitat to rivers. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
