Magellan steamship duck
| Magellan steamship duck | ||||||||||
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Magellan steamship duck |
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| Tachyeres pteneres | ||||||||||
| ( Forster , 1844) |
The Magellan steamship duck or giant steamship duck ( Tachyeres pteneres ) is a South American, flightless demi-goose from the genus of the steamship duck ( Tachyeres ). The birds live in Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn . The ability to fly is severely restricted. The total population is estimated at 10,000 to 100,000 remaining animals. The ornithologist Hartmut Kolbe assumes that it is not threatened because of its general distribution in the coastal waters of southernmost South America.
description
Magellan steamship ducks are very large and massive ducks. They are characterized by a chunky beak, stocky legs and tail feathers that are slightly curved upwards. The weight of the males is around six kilograms. Females are significantly lighter with an average of 4.1 kilograms. The beak is consistently solid orange and sometimes has a dark base. The head color is gray throughout. Individual individuals sometimes have a white streak of eyes. It can hardly be distinguished from the Falkland steamship duck when observing the field. The most striking distinguishing feature is that the wings reach down to the rump.
Magellanic steamship ducks do not show any pronounced sexual dimorphism . However, males are slightly larger and more massive than females.
As a non-flying species, its habitat is limited to stretches of coast with good food supply. In principle, very little is known about the reproduction of steamship ducks. It is assumed that they live in permanent marriage and are true to their location. As with all steamboat ducks, the breeding period is around 30 days. Clutches comprise between four and seven eggs of a clay-brown color. The ducks are sexually mature from the age of 3.
Individual references, literature and web links
Individual evidence
literature
- Hartmut Kolbe: The world's ducks. Ulmer Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7442-1
Web links
- Image of the Magellan steamship duck
- Videos, photos and sound recordings on Tachyeres pteneres in the Internet Bird Collection
- Tachyeres pteneres inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
