The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and prefer to congregate in flocks of...
The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a large wild goose native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America. Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; often found on or close to fresh water. These...
The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is a large duck native to the Americas. Although it is a tropical bird, it adapts well to cooler climates, thriving in weather as cold as −12 °C (10 °F) and able to survive even colder conditions.
The Mute swan (Cygnus olor) is known as an integral feature of urban parks as well as most of the waterways in our regions. But originally this beautiful white bird was a wild animal, not always with compatible behavior and habits for life in city...
The Mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is closely related to the North American Wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix. 'Aix' is an Ancient Greek word that was used by Aristotle...
The Black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large unmistakeble waterbird, a species of swan. It is one of only three swan species that inhabit the southern hemisphere. The Black swan was introduced to various countries as an ornamental bird in the 1800s...
The Wood duck (Aix sponsa) is a species of perching duck from North America. The drake of this species is known to be one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. In 1918 the Wood duck was near extinction as a result of habitat loss and...
The domestic duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus ) or domestic mallard is a variety of mallard that has been domesticated by humans and raised for meat, eggs, and down feathers. A few are also kept for show, as pets, or for their ornamental value....
The Trumpeter swan (Cygnus buccinator) is the heaviest living bird native to North America and it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl. It is the American counterpart and a close relative of the Whooper swan of Eurasia, and even has been...
The Snow goose (Anser caerulescens) is a North American species of goose whose name derives from the typically white plumage. These are birds of cold timberline that migrate more than 3,000 mi (4,800 km) from traditional wintering areas to the...
The Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) is a member of the duck, goose, and swan family Anatidae. It is native to Africa and named for its place of origin. Egyptian geese were considered sacred by the Ancient Egyptians and appeared in much of...
The Greylag goose (Anser anser) is a large goose in the waterfowl family Anatidae. Its distribution is widespread, with birds from the north of its range in Europe and Asia migrating southwards to spend the winter in warmer places. It is the...
The Common merganser is a large seaduck that lives in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. These birds eat mainly fish and nest in holes in trees.
The Hawaiian goose or the nene (Branta sandvicensis ) is the world's rarest goose. It is thought that the nene evolved from the Canada goose, which most likely arrived on the Hawaiian islands about 500,000 years ago, shortly after the island of...
The Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis) is a species of goose that belongs to the genus Branta of black geese. Despite its superficial similarity to the Brant goose, genetic analysis has shown it is an eastern derivative of the Vackling goose lineage.
The lake duck (Oxyura vittata ) is a small, South American stiff-tailed duck. It is also called the Argentine blue-bill, Argentine blue-billed duck, Argentine lake duck, or Argentine ruddy duck.
The Hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is a fish-eating duck from North America. It is the second smallest species of merganser, with only the smew of Europe and Asia being smaller, and it also is the only merganser whose native habitat is...
The Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus) is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan. It is considered the most elegant of the swan family.
The bar-headed goose (Anser indicus) is a goose that breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes and winters in South Asia, as far south as peninsular India. It is one of the world's highest-flying birds, known for the...
The Common eider is a large sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia.
The American black duck (Anas rubripes) 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.
The Northern pintail (Anas acuta) is a duck species that has a wide geographic distribution. 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...
The Tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus) is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific but are also sometimes split into two species: Bewick's swan (Cygnus bewickii) of the Palaearctic and the Whistling...
The Northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata) is a widespread species of duck unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. In Britain, it is known simply as the shoveler. One part of its scientific name Spatula is the Latin...
The Black-bellied whistling duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis) is a whistling duck found in the Americas. Since it is one of only two whistling duck species native to North America, it is occasionally just known as the "whistling duck" or "Mexican...
The gadwall (Mareca strepera) is a widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. This species is closely related to the Falcated duck and its scientific name "strepera" means "noisy".
The Eurasian teal (Anas crecca ), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck which breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being the only...
The brant or brent goose (Branta bernicla) is a small migratory goose of the genus Branta. The Brant and the similar Barnacle goose were previously considered one species, formerly believed to be the same creature as the crustacean. That myth can be...
The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis ) is a duck from North America and one of the stiff-tailed ducks. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek oxus, "sharp", and oura, "tail", and jamaicensis is "from Jamaica".
The Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a medium-sized sea duck named for its golden-yellow eye. Its closest relative is the similar Barrow's goldeneye. The genus name of the Common goldeneye comes from the Ancient Greek boukephalos and can be...
The canvasback (Aythya valisineria) is a species of diving duck, the largest found in North America. It is also one of the most powerful fliers. The part of its scientific name valisineria comes from the wild celery, whose winter buds and rhizomes...
The Greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) is a species of goose named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill. In fact the word albifrons in its scientific name comes from the Latin albus "white" and frons "...
The Swan goose (Anser cygnoides) is a large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and the Russian Far East. While uncommon in the wild, this species has been domesticated. Introduced and feral populations of its...
The Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) is a small diving duck found in northern Eurasia. Its scientific name comes from Ancient Greek word aithuia, an unidentified seabird mentioned by authors including Hesychius and Aristotle, and Latin words fuligo...
Blue-winged teal (Spatula discors) are small members of the dabbling duck group found in North America. They are often the first ducks to migrate south in the fall and the last ones to return in the spring. During migration, some Blue-winged teal...
Eurasian wigeons (Mareca penelope) are widespread dabbling ducks within their Palearctic range. They are very strong flyers and migrate long distances to spend winter in warm countries of southern Asia and Africa.
The Muscovy or Barbary (Cairina moschata domestica ) is the domesticated form of the wild Muscovy duck. There are a number of local or regional breeds, and drakes of these are commonly cross-bred with domestic ducks to produce the hybrids called...
The Harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small colorful sea duck. It takes its name from Harlequin (French Arlequin, Italian Arlecchino ), a colourfully dressed character in Commedia dell'arte. In North America, it is also known as 'lords...
The Ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) is a distinctive waterfowl that has a loud honking call. The ruddy shelduck mostly inhabits inland water-bodies and forms a lonf lasting pair bond. In central and eastern Asia, populations of this species are...
The Greater scaup (Aythya marila) is a diving duck also known as scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America. The name of this bird may come from "scalp", a Scottish and Northern English word for a shellfish bed, or from the duck's...
The Cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii) is a species of goose native to North America. It was originally considered to be the same species or a subspecies of the Canada goose. Cackling geese fly in large flocks in V-shaped formation and their calls...
The Red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) is a diving duck, one of the many bird species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name Mergus serrator. The...
