Falcated teal
| Falcated duck | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Subfamily: | Anatinae |
| Genus: | Anas |
| Species: | A. falcata |
| Binomial name | |
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Anas falcata Georgi, 1775 |
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The falcated duck or falcated teal (Anas falcata) is a gadwall-sized dabbling duck.
The closest relative of this species is the gadwall, followed by the wigeons.
Falcated ducks have a very intricate courtship ritual. Females perform a series of inciting calls and other movements while preening behind the wings of their targeted male. Males use a courting method similar to others in the Anas genus, including an introductory shake, a neck-stretching burp call, a grunt whistle, and a head-up-tail-up display. During the mating season the falcated ducks form monogamous pairs that last throughout the mating season. It is currently not known how long the falcated duck lifespan is. There is also not much information on their territory size because these ducks are not studied as closely as other more popular species like swans or geese.
A fieldwork study at Hyo-ko Waterfowl Park, a nature preserve in Niigata, Japan, found what they presumed was a male hybrid of a falcated duck and a Eurasian wigeon. They have found these “wild” hybrids in several instances over the past few years. These birds shared morphological traits with both species. Still, most of the traits favored the falcated duck. It was reported that these hybrid birds have joined courting parties of Eurasian widgeon and even attempted to compete with widgeon males. Grunt-whistling, and burping calls being the method of inciting courtship, even resemble that of the falcated duck and not of the Eurasian wigeon. The hybrid bird most be closely watched, was quite sexually active, however, it is not yet known if they can reproduce with either of the female species.
Hybridization between two different species often leaves the offspring sterile, but this genus shows a surprising amount of hybrid fertility. This hybrid species performed courtship rituals more closely related to the falcated duck, yet socially was active in Eurasian wigeon flocks. Successful reproduction was not seen between the hybrid species and a pure Eurasian wigeon female during the fieldwork study. Further study of hybrid avian species can help shed light onto avian reproduction and their evolutionary biology.
The falcated duck breeds in eastern Asia. It nests in eastern Russia, in Khabarovsk, Primorskiy, Amur, Chita, Buryatia, Irkutsk, Tuva, eastern Krasnoyarsk, south central Sakha Sakhalin, extreme northeastern North Korea and northern China, in northeastern Inner Mongolia, and northern Heilongjiang, and in northern Japan, Hokkaidō, Aomori, and the Kuril Islands. It is widely recorded well outside its normal range, but the popularity of this beautiful duck in captivity clouds the origins of these extralimital birds.
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Wikipedia