White-cheeked Pintail
Anas bahamensis
Very distinctive duck with its white cheeks, throat, and tail contrasting with its brown body. The bill is dark with red sides at the base. In flight shows pale brown and green patches on the wings. Both sexes similar. Found in both fresh and saline wetlands.
Identification
Like many southern ducks, the sexes are similar. It is mainly brown with white cheeks and a red-based grey bill (young birds lack the pink). It cannot be confused with any other duck in its range.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Anas bahamensis
- Authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Anas
Range and habitat
It is found in the Caribbean, South America, and the Galápagos Islands. It occurs on waters with some salinity, such as brackish lakes, estuaries and mangrove swamps.<p>There are three subspecies:
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The white-cheeked pintail feeds on aquatic plants (such as Ruppia), grass seeds, algae and small creatures (such as insects and small aquatic invertebrates) obtained by dabbling. The nest is on the ground under vegetation and near water.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Common Shelduck
Tadorna tadorna
Distinctive, large, rather gooselike duck of coastal wetlands, tidal mudflats, and nearby grassy fields. Striking plumage often looks simply black-and-white; at close range, head is deep glossy green, broad breast band dark rusty. Male has raised knob at base of red bill; juvenile duller overall, with whitish face and eyering. Less numerous and more local inland at lakes and along rivers. Often seen walking and grazing, at times in flocks.
Plain-breasted Piculet
Picumnus castelnau
Relatively plain piculet found in dense riverine and secondary vegetation along the Amazon and its tributaries in Peru, barely making it into southernmost Colombia and westernmost Brazil. Plumage generally pale below with a brownish back. Note the dark spots in the ear coverts; the short, sharp bill; and the glossy red feathers in the male’s crown. Song is a very high-pitched series of thin whistles, dropping at the end.
Olive-capped Flowerpecker
Dicaeum nigrilore
A small, rather long-billed bird of montane forest on Mindanao. Olive-green on the back, darker on the edge of the wing, with a golden-olive head, a pale gray throat separated from the head color by a black line, a pale gray chest, and pale yellow on the sides and under the base of the tail. Note the black legs and the red eye. Somewhat similar to Olive-backed Flowerpecker, but has a longer bill and a yellowish lower belly. Voice includes a high-pitched upslurred whistle and a rough “jiik!”
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.