Brazilian Duck

Taxobox
name = Brazilian Duck
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1

---

image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Anseriformes
familia = Anatidae
genus = "Amazonetta"
genus_authority = Boetticher, 1929
species = "A. brasiliensis"
binomial = "Amazonetta brasiliensis"
binomial_authority = (Gmelin, 1789)
subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
subdivision =
* "A. b. brasiliensis" Lesser Brazilian Duck
* "A. b. ipecutiri" Greater Brazilian Duck

The Brazilian Duck or Brazilian Teal ("Amazonetta brasiliensis") is the only duck in the genus "Amazonetta". It was formerly considered a "perching duck", but more recent analyses indicate that it belongs to a clade of South American dabbling ducks which also includes the Crested Duck, the Bronze-winged Duck, and possibly the steamer ducks (Johnson & Sorenson, 1999).

The ducks are light brown in colour. Drakes distinguish themselves from females in having red beaks and legs, and in having a distinctive pale grey area on the side of its head and neck. The colour of these limbs is much duller in females.

Brazilian ducks live in pairs or in small groups of up to twenty birds. Both parents look after their hatchlings. They eat seeds, fruits, roots and insect, while ducklings eat only insects.

They can be found throughout eastern South America, from Uruguay to northern Argentina, with a core area in Venezuela, northern and central Brazil. Their preferred habitat is a body of freshwater away from the coast with dense vegetation nearby.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

* Johnson, Kevin P. & Sorenson, Michael D. (1999): Phylogeny and biogeography of dabbling ducks (genus Anas): a comparison of molecular and morphological evidence. "Auk" 116(3): 792–805. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v116n03/p0792-p0805.pdf PDF fulltext]

External links

*Arthur Grosset's Birds: [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/brazilianduck.html Short description and pictures]