Southern Pochard
Netta erythrophthalma
Very dark-looking duck with a broad white wing band that is visible in flight. Males are mostly glossy black with chestnut wings and a pale gray bill. Females have a different head pattern with white at the bill base and a crescent behind the eye. Inhabits lakes and pools with abundant vegetation.
Identification
The southern pochard (Netta erythrophthalma) is a species of duck, and a member of the genus Netta. There are two subspecies, the South American (southern) pochard N. e. erythrophthalma (Wied-Neuwied, 1833) and the African (southern) pochard N. e. brunnea (Eyton, 1838). The South American pochard has a fragmented range and is found from Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina to Chile. Here it occurs in a wide variety of shallow fresh waters with submerged vegetation, from the lowlands up to 3,700 metres. The African pochard occurs from the Cape to the Ethiopian highlands on water bodies with or without emergent vegetation. They are suspected to have been strong migrants in the past but the construction of numerous farm dams seems to allow them a more sedentary lifestyle. They reach highest concentrations in Africa's central plateaus and in the south-western winter rainfall region.
Taxonomy
Two syntype specimens of Nyroca brunnea Eyton (Monogr. Anat., 1838, p.161., pl.23.), the African Southern Pochard, are held in the vertebrate zoology collections of National Museums Liverpool at World Museum, with accession numbers NML-VZ D832 (male adult) and NML-VZ D832a (female adult). The specimens were collected in South Africa and came to the Liverpool national collection via Thomas Campbell Eyton’s collection and the 13th Earl of Derby’s collection which was bequeathed to the city of Liverpool. There are two other syntype specimens, including NHMUK 1845.7.6.271, in the Natural History Museum at Tring.
- Scientific name
- Netta erythrophthalma
- Authority
- (Wied-Neuwied, M, 1833)
- Order
- Anseriformes
- Family
- Anatidae
- Genus
- Netta
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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