Flying Steamer-Duck
Tachyeres patachonicus
A large, heavily built duck that is fairly common along rocky seacoasts and on lakes near the coast; also local and uncommon on larger lakes farther inland. Despite the name, rarely seen in flight; more often seen thrashing through the water like an old paddle steamer boat, hence the name. Male’s bill is mostly orange, while the female’s bill is mostly greenish. Plumage of both sexes is duller gray or brownish gray compared to Flightless Steamer-Duck; the two species sometimes occur together, but Flightless tends to be warier.
Identification
Though they are the smallest of the four Tachyeres species, flying steamer ducks share similar plumage traits with other steamer ducks including brown head and neck feathers with white stripes stretching from their eyes to the napes of their necks, and brown-gray gradient body feathers. Their underbellies are mostly white, and their feet are orange. Female flying steamer ducks have smaller bills relative to males that are orange with black tips, while males have darker gray bills with slight yellow accents. Flying steamer ducks are also sexually dimorphic to the extent that males are heavier but have smaller cranial elements and wingspans than females. Males and females both possess cornified orange carpal knobs on the proximal part of the carpometacarpus bone, and these knobs are used in display as well as interspecies and intraspecies combat by males.<p>Sexual dimorphism can also be observed in the duration and pitch of their various calls, which sound much like grunts. The females’ grunts have been described as lower pitched than the males’ grunts, and usually occur in rapid succession of similar pitch. Males have three distinct grunts that have been described as whistle-like, including a ‘rasping’ grunt, a ‘ticking’ grunt, and a ‘sibilant’ grunt.<p>Flying steamer ducks undergo three molts per annual cycle, and these molts vary widely with geographic location. The wear and degradation on the primary and secondary feathers of observed flying steamer ducks varies depending on the location and flight behavior of the individuals.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Tachyeres patachonicus
- Authority
- (King, PP, 1831)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Tachyeres
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Black-winged Stilt
Himantopus himantopus
Striking large black-and-white wader with a thin, straight bill and bright pink legs, found in wetlands with open shallow water throughout much of Africa and Eurasia, often in brackish habitats. Some populations are migratory, departing northerly breeding grounds for warmer southern regions. Often forms noisy colonies on bare ground near water. Essentially unmistakable throughout much of its range, but compare with Pied Stilt in parts of Southeast Asia. Feeds by wading in water, picking from the water surface with its needle-like bill. In flight, long pink legs stick out far beyond the tail. Calls loudly and stridently, especially when alarmed during the breeding season.
Macaroni Penguin
Eudyptes chrysolophus
Medium-sized bulky penguin with a bulbous red bill and a dash of stiff orange “hair.” Disappointingly, named for the resemblance of its spiffy, “fashionable” crest to the hairstyle of fashionable youth, or “macaronis”, and not for the pasta-sauce-orange color of the crest itself. Similar to Southern Rockhopper Penguin, but note Macaroni’s larger size, much more heavy build, chunkier bill, and a droopier, more orange, crest. Breeds in noisy colonies on rocky islands, across a wide area of the Subantarctic and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Red-knobbed Coot
Fulica cristata
Mostly sooty gray waterbird with a white beak and frontal shield. Breeding adults have two small reddish horns, but at other times difficult to separate from Eurasian Coot. Feathering on the side of the upper mandible is rounded rather than pointed. The bill is blueish rather than pinkish and in flight it lacks the white edge on the secondaries seen on Eurasian Coot. Found in open freshwater including lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and lagoons.
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