Family Ducks, Geese, Swans (Anatidae)
Least Concern
African Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos)
Taxonomy
French: Canard à bosse German: Glanzente Spanish: Pato crestudo afroasiático
Other common names:
Knob-billed Duck, Grey-sided Comb Duck,
Comb Duck (when lumped with S. sylvicola)
Taxonomy:
Anser melanotos
Pennant
, 1769,Sri Lanka
.Distribution:
Africa S of Sahara, and Madagascar; tropical Asia from Pakistan (where probably extirpated) through Indian Subcontinent to S Indochina.
Descriptive notes
64–79 cm; male 1300–2610 g, female 1230–2325 g. Unmistakable, although at least in Asia female might be confused with smaller Nettapus coromandelianus... read more
Voice
Generally rather silent. In display males hiss (becoming wheezy in flight) and in threat utter “guk... read more
Habitat
Freshwater swamps, rivers and their deltas, lakes, rice fields, inundated floodplains, all with... read more
Food and feeding
Diet based on vegetable matter, mostly seeds of grasses, sedges and aquatic plants (including Potamogeton, water lilies), grain... read more
Breeding
Virtually all information from Old World. Season variable, but generally during rainy season, e.g. Jul–Sept in Mali, Sept in Nigeria... read more
Movements
Mainly sedentary, with seasonal (perhaps even sometimes nomadic) movements mostly related to... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). CITES II. Widespread and locally common. Healthiest populations in Africa, where locally abundant on well-watered savannas: 32,800... read more
Usually considered conspecific with S. sylvicola. Monotypic.