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Falcated Duck

Anas falcataOrder: ANSERIFORMESFamily: Geese and Ducks (Anatidae)

Falcated Duck Portrait_2
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Falcated Duck Variations

Falcated Duck: Female
Default description
Falcated Duck: Female
Falcated Duck: Male
Default description
Falcated Duck: Male

General

Falcated Duck: Medium-sized dabbling duck named for long, black and white, sickle-shaped (falcated) tertial feathers extending over black rump. Body white, black, gray in finely-scaled pattern; bolder on breast. Crested iridescent head is green and purple-brown. Throat is white with black ring; black tail and black-green speculum are both edged in white. Bill is black; top of base has small white spot. Female has scaled brown appearance overall with paler belly, gray bill, slight crest, short tertials, and no bill spot. Juvenile resembles female but is a paler buff-brown.

Range and Habitat

Falcated Duck: Breeds and winters in southeastern Asia but strongly migratory. Birds seen in North America beyond Alaska may be escaped captives from private collections or fully wild birds. Favors wetlands, small lakes, ponds, quiet rivers, estuaries, marshes. Near-threatenend in the wild. Most U.S. sightings occur between Pacific northwestern and central Californian coasts. Also seen on Baja peninsula, in Mexico, India, and Canada.

Voice Text

"whew- whew", "tsooh, tsooh"

Interesting Facts

  • The Falcated Duck was once known as the Falcated Teal.
  • It is widely recorded well outside its normal range, but the popularity of this beautiful duck in captivity clouds the origins of these extralimital birds.
  • A group of ducks has many collective nouns, including a "brace", "flush", "paddling", "raft", and "team" of ducks.


Author

Mary Beth Geisel Splitbar
Range Map for Falcated Duck
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Anas falcata
Length19 - 21.5 Inches
Wingspan33.5 Inches

Falcated Duck

Falcated Duck: Medium dabbling duck with long black and white tertial feathers extending over black rump. Body white, black, gray in finely-scaled pattern. The crested iridescent head is green and purple-brown. White throat has black ring; black tail and black-green speculum are edged in white.

● Song: "whew- whew", "tsooh, tsooh"

● Foraging & Feeding: Falcated Duck: Eats aquatic plants, seeds, and roots, but also occasionally takes snails, insects, small fish and frogs. Generally a surface feeder or dabbler but will sometimes tip or upend to feed or, more rarely, may dive. Sometimes grazes on land on forbs and grasses. Prefers marshy areas, ponds, estuaries, quiet rivers, and shallow coastal bays.

● Breeding & nesting: Falcated Duck: Six to ten creamy white eggs are laid in nest built on ground, near water, under cover of tall, dense vegetation. Nest typically made of grasses and forbs and lined with down. Hen incubates eggs for about 26 days, sometimes assisted by male.

● Similar species: Falcated Duck: No similar species has long, sickle-shaped tertials.

Flight Pattern

Fast, direct flight with steady, strong, rapid wingbeats.
Falcated Duck Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Falcated Duck: Breeds and winters in southeastern Asia but strongly migratory. Birds seen in North America beyond Alaska may be escaped captives from private collections or fully wild birds. Favors wetlands, small lakes, ponds, quiet rivers, estuaries, marshes. Near-threatenend in the wild. Most U.S. sightings occur between Pacific northwestern and central Californian coasts. Also seen on Baja peninsula, in Mexico, India, and Canada.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationAccidental to casual, Irregular vagrant
MigrationMigratory
Weight25.6 Ounces