Andaman Teal
Anas albogularis
A small brown duck with a pale throat and scalloped plumage. The face is sometimes all white, but always has a white eye-ring. In flight, there is a white panel on the upperwing and white “armpits” on the underwing. Quite gregarious, gathering in marshy waterbodies. Nests in tree holes.
Identification
The species is dark brown with buffy markings. The face and throat are pale with a white ring around the eye. The bill is bluish grey and the iris is red.
Taxonomy
The first formal description of the Andaman teal was by the English ornithologist Allan Octavian Hume in 1873 under the binomial name Mareca albogularis. It is now placed with many other dabbling ducks in the genus Anas. It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Sunda teal (Anas gibberifrons) that is found in Indonesia.
- Scientific name
- Anas albogularis
- Authority
- (Hume, 1873)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Anas
Range and habitat
Andaman teals are endemic to the Andaman Islands (India) and Great Coco Island (Burma). They are found in inland pools as well as mangroves and lagoons. A population estimate of 500 to 600 individuals was made in a survey conducted in 1995–98, and 674 were counted in 2005. Their population has been on the increase for the last few decades, and was most recently estimated in 2014 to have slightly more than 1,000 individuals.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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