Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck
- Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck
Taxobox
name = Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck
image_width = 240px
image_caption = Female
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Anseriformes
familia = Anatidae
genus = "Tachyeres"
species = "T. brachypterus"
binomial = "Tachyeres brachypterus"
binomial_authority = (Latham, 1790)
The Falkland Steamerduck, "Tachyeres brachypterus", is a duck native to the Falkland Islands in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is one of only two bird species to be endemic to the Falkland Islands ("Islas Malvinas" in Spanish), the other being Cobb's Wren.
The Falkland Steamerduck's wings are very short (hence the scientific name: "brachy" = "short", and "pteron" = "wing"), and it is incapable of flight. The plumage of the Falkland Steamerduck is mostly dark grey, but with a white stripe behind the eye. It is very difficult to distinguish from the Flying Steamer Duck in the field since they occupy the same habitat and, although the Flying Steamer Duck can fly, it rarely does.
References
* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
steamer duck — ▪ bird (genus Tachyeres), any of four species of heavily built, big billed sea ducks of southernmost South America and the Falkland Islands. The bird is named for its habit of running across the water with wings thrashing like a paddle… … Universalium
steamer duck — noun a greyish South American duck which churns the water with its wings when fleeing danger. [Tachyeres brachypterus (Falkland Islands, flightless) and related species.] … English new terms dictionary
steamer duck — noun : any of two flightless and one flying large sea ducks (genus Tachyeres) of Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland islands that swim with a peculiar action suggesting a side wheel steamboat … Useful english dictionary
Flightless bird — Penguins are a well known example of flightless birds Flightless birds are birds which lack the ability to fly, relying instead on their ability to run or swim. They are thought to have evolved from flying ancestors.[1] There are about forty… … Wikipedia
Tachyeres — Taxobox image width = 240px image caption = Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck, Tachyeres brachypterus name = Steamer Ducks regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Anseriformes familia = Anatidae genus = Tachyeres genus authority … Wikipedia
