Copper mirror
| Copper mirror | ||||||||||||
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Copper mirror duck ( Speculanas specularis ) in the Bernburg Zoo |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Speculanas | ||||||||||||
| Boetticher , 1929 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Speculanas specularis | ||||||||||||
| ( King , 1828) |
The copper mirror duck ( Speculanas specularis ) is a species of bird from the duck family in the monotypical genus Speculanas . The distribution of the copper pond duck is limited to the south of South America. It owes its name to the striking copper-colored wing mirror . The worldwide population is estimated at only 6000 to 7000 individuals.
Appearance
The male of the copper mirror duck wears a year-round dress . The head and neck are dark brown. There is a noticeable white spot in front of the eye and on the throat. The throat patch extends to the sides of the neck, so that it forms almost a semicircle. The back plumage is black-brown to blackish and has a lighter edge for each feather. The chest and underside of the body are dashed or dotted light brown and dark brown. There are larger dark brown to blackish spots on the light brown flanks. The tail is dark brown and the wings are dark brown to black-purple. The wings have a striking bronze-colored mirror, which is delimited at its edges by a thin black and white line. The beak is blue-gray. The legs and feet are orange to dark yellow in color. The iris is brown.
Copper mirror ducks show only a very low degree of sexual dimorphism . In the female, the white patch on the face is rather rounded, while in the male it is elongated. The color of the females is a little duller and they are smaller. Fledglings either have no white spots on their face and neck at all, or they are only weakly pronounced. The breast is dotted more than that of colored animals.
In the case of copper mirror ducks kept in human care, the full moult begins with the dropping of the wing spring when the young birds are largely fledged and independent. Following the swinging moult, the small plumage and the control feathers are moulted.
The male's calls are softly whispering. The sounds of the female, on the other hand, are loud and harsh and are reminiscent of the barking of a small dog.
The chicks are dark sepia brown on the head and back. The cheeks are yellowish while the rest of the face is reddish brown. The throat, chest and belly are gray-white. There is a small gray-white spot on the back and on the rump side. The beak and legs are dark gray. The iris is dark brown.
distribution and habitat
The exact distribution area of the copper mirror duck and its wintering areas are not known. It occurs in western Argentina and Chile, where it prefers to colonize the Andean lakes at medium to low altitudes. These lakes are often very nutritionally poor, which may contribute to the large territories of the copper pond duck. Their distribution area extends in southern South America to Tierra del Fuego. It is a partial migrant who visits lower altitudes in winter and sometimes moves north.
According to previous observations, the copper mirror mainly lives in pairs or in small family groups. Up to now only flocks with a maximum number of individuals of 18 animals have been observed. It is mostly found near lakes and fast flowing waters in forested regions. However, it is occasionally seen in slow-flowing waters, in lagoons, and more open landscapes. In the valleys of the Andes it occurs at altitudes of 1500 meters above sea level.
food
Information on the diet of the species comes mainly from an analysis of the stomach contents of four ducks. These mainly contained roots, seeds and plant components such as stems and leaves from aquatic plants. A small percentage of aquatic insects were also found in two stomachs. Copper mirror ducks find their food predominantly rooting. They also graze on land.
Reproduction
Copper mirror ducks occupy very large breeding areas. The breeding season starts in the months of September to October. The eggs are laid in October and November. The young hatch from December to early January.
The nest is built on the ground and is often found on small islets in the water. The nest hollow is densely covered with down. The eggs are cream-colored to light brown and measure 63.6 × 44.2 millimeters. A full clutch usually contains four to six eggs. The female breeds alone. In the case of copper mirror ducks kept in human care, the breeding period was 30 days. The male is involved in guiding the chicks. The chick mortality rate is relatively low, which makes up for the small clutch size compared to other duck species.
Attitude in Europe
So far, copper mirror ducks have rarely been imported into Europe. The world's first human-cared breeding was achieved by the British Wildfowl Trust in 1964 . The species is now more often kept by private individuals. In contrast, it is rarely shown in zoos. The species is considered robust and hardy. However, when kept in pairs, it is aggressive towards other ducks that are kept in the same enclosure.
Web links
- Speculanas specularis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ^ Kear, p. 488
- ↑ Kolbe, p. 194
- ↑ Kolbe, p. 194
- ↑ Kolbe, p. 194
- ↑ Kear, p. 487
- ↑ Kolbe, p. 194
- ^ Kear, p. 488
- ^ Kear, p. 488
- ^ Kear, p. 488
- ^ Kear, p. 488
- ↑ Kolbe, p. 195
- ↑ Kolbe, p. 195
literature
- Janet Kear (Ed.): Ducks, Geese and Swans. Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-854645-9 .
- Hartmut Kolbe; Die Entenvögel der Welt , Ulmer Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7442-1 .