Basic Information
Scientific classification
- Chinese name: South American hard-tailed duck
- Scientific name: Lake duck, Oxyura vittata
- Classification: Waterfowl
- Family: Anseriformes, Anatidae, Hard-tailed duck
Vital signs data
- Body length: Approximately 40 centimeters
- Weight: About 640g
- Lifespan: No verification data available.
Significant features
The male duck has a black head, a reddish-brown body, and a blue beak, while the female duck's colors are relatively less varied.
Distribution and Habitat
They are distributed in South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and the Falkland Islands (also known as the Malvinas Islands).
They inhabit various types of inland rivers, lakes, ponds, and swamps.
Appearance
The South American hard-tailed duck is about 40 cm long and weighs about 640 grams. The male has a black head, reddish-brown body, and a blue bill. The female is relatively less colorful, with a brown body, white throat, a white eye stripe running across the top of the eye, and a wide white band extending to the back of the head below it. The bill is iron-grey.
Detailed introduction
The South American hard-tailed duck (scientific name: Oxyura vittata) is a very typical gregarious duck belonging to the Anatidae family.
The South American hard-tailed duck lives in flocks mixed with other ducks and is adept at swimming and diving. It is extremely wary of humans and will take flight at the slightest disturbance. While swimming, it typically stays submerged for only 3-5 minutes. When swimming, it often raises its tail high. When taking off from the water, it often skims the surface for a considerable distance before leaving it. Its swimming, diving, and flying postures are more like those of a grebe compared to other ducks. It generally does not venture onto land and rarely flies. It rarely makes calls. It feeds on aquatic plants, but also eats insects, fish, frogs, crustaceans, mollusks, and worms.
The breeding season for the South American hard-tailed duck is from May to July. They nest in floating nests among shrubs or grasses near water. Each clutch contains 6-10 eggs. The incubation period is 25 days.
Listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Birds, 2009 ver 3.1.
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