Andean Duck
Oxyura ferruginea
Small, compact duck with a long, fan-shaped tail, often held sticking up out of water. Breeding males have a chestnut body, black head, and baby-blue bill. Nonbreeding males and females are variably brown overall, often with a smudgy dark face and a dark line through the cheek. Occurs in pairs or loose flocks, bobbing like corks on lakes in the Andes from central Colombia to southern Chile. Dives to forage on aquatic invertebrates. Not often seen flying.
Identification
These are small, compact ducks with stout, scoop-shaped bills, and long, stiff tails they often hold cocked upward. They have slightly peaked heads and fairly short, thick necks. In summer, they have rich chestnut bodies with bright blue bills. In winter, they are dull gray-brown above and paler below with dull gray bills. Females and first-year males are brownish, somewhat like winter males but with a blurry stripe across the pale cheek patch. It is separable from the ruddy duck by its all-black face and larger size.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Oxyura ferruginea
- Authority
- (Eyton, 1838)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Oxyura
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Synallaxis candei
A stunning and boldly patterned spinetail of dry areas in Colombia and Venezuela. Unmistakable; has a rufous body with gray crown, contrasting black face and throat, prominent white “whiskers”, and a white belly. Found in desert scrub and very dry forest edges. Typically found alone or in pairs, actively foraging and often not that difficult to see. Very vocal; song a loud “pa, PEE”, “pa, PEE-PEe”, sometimes with more “PEE” notes.
Fork-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant
Hemitriccus furcatus
Tiny flycatcher with a very distinctive head pattern and tail. Best field marks are the cinnamon head and the long, forked white-tipped tail framed by a dark border. The body is olive above and white below, and the wings are brown-edged. Inhabits the borders of forest and second growth, especially with bamboo and vine tangles. The song is a series of fast and high-pitched notes.
Nightingale Island Finch
Nesospiza questi
A small lemon-olive finch with a gray patch in front of the eye. Female is smaller, duller, and streakier than the male. Juvenile resembles female but is browner and streakier. An abundant endemic throughout Nightingale Island and small adjacent islands, preferring tussock grass. Male’s song is high-pitched and sharp, an often repeated “wheet-whuu”; female answers with a whistle. The much larger and rarer Wilkins’s Finch has a deep grosbeak-like bill and a slower song, and is more restricted to wooded parts of the island than Nightingale Island Finch.
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