American black duck
| American black duck | |
|---|---|
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| American black duck in flight | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Subfamily: | Anatinae |
| Genus: | Anas |
| Species: | A. rubripes |
| Binomial name | |
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Anas rubripes (Brewster, 1902) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Anas obscura |
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Anas obscura
The American black duck (Anas rubripes) is a large dabbling duck. The scientific name is derived from Latin. Anas means "duck", and rubripes comes from ruber "red" and pes, "foot". American black ducks are similar to mallards in size, and resemble the female mallard in coloration, although the black duck's plumage is darker. It is native to eastern North America and has shown reduction in numbers and increasing hybridization with the more common mallard as that species has spread with man-made habitat changes.
American black ducks weigh 720–1,640 g (1.59–3.62 lb), measure 48–63 cm (19–25 in) in length and 88–96 cm (35–38 in) across the wings. Although they are similar to mallards in size and broadly overlap in weight, according to a manual of avian body masses, they have the highest mean body mass in the Anas genus, with 376 males averaging 1.4 kg (3.1 lb) and 176 females averaging 1.1 kg (2.4 lb). The American black duck somewhat resembles the female mallard in coloration, although the black duck's plumage is darker. The male and female black duck are generally similar in appearance, but the male's bill is yellow while the female's is a dull green. The head is slightly lighter brown than the dark brown body, and the speculums are iridescent violet-blue with predominantly black margins. The black duck has orange legs and dark eyes. In flight, the white underwings can be seen in contrast to the dark brown body. The behaviour and voice are the same as for the mallard drake.
Their breeding habitat is alkaline marshes, acid bogs, lakes, ponds, rivers, marshes, brackish marshes, and the margins of estuaries and other aquatic environments in northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, across Ontario and Quebec as well as the Atlantic Canadian Provinces, including the Great Lakes, and the Adirondacks in the United States. Female black ducks lay an average of 9 eggs.
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