Flightless Steamer-duck
A species of Steamer ducks, Also known as Magellanic Steamer-duck Scientific name : Tachyeres pteneres Genus : Steamer ducks
Flightless Steamer-duck, A species of Steamer ducks
Also known as:
Magellanic Steamer-duck
Botanical name: Tachyeres pteneres
Genus: Steamer ducks
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Liam Quinn , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Description
This is the largest of the steamer duck species. It is a massively built waterfowl at 3.5–7 kg (7.7–15.4 lb) and 65–84 cm (26–33 in) in length, with the males noticeably larger than the females. Males weigh an average of 5.34 kg (11.8 lb) while females weigh around 4.2 kg (9.3 lb) on average. The wingspan is 85–110 cm (33–43 in), the wings being too small to functionally allow the birds to take flight. Instead, the wings are used like paddles to help skim rapidly across the surface of the water. This species outweighs any other wild species called "duck" and is about the same mass as the largest wild geese in the world, although this species is only distantly related to most true ducks (for example of the genus Anas). On males, the head and neck is blue-gray, with paler coloration crown and forehead. He has a narrow white eye-ring which continuing backwards as stripe and a reddish-brown throat. His abdomen, ventral area and undertail coverts are white and the tail is grey. Females are a darker gray-brown on the head and dark reddish on the throat. Her body and wings as males, but she may have brown/wine colouring on feathers. The juvenile is similar to the female but slightly duller colored.
Size
84 cm
Feeding Habits
Flightless Steamer-duck primarily feed on aquatic molluscs, crustaceans, and some small fish, foraging in shallow waters and kelp beds, especially during high tide.
Habitat
Flightless Steamer-duck typically inhabits marine environments, favoring the rocky coasts and the adjacent waters. They are often encountered several miles off the shore and prefer to breed along sheltered shorelines, as well as in protected bays or channels where the conditions are generally calmer.
Dite type
Omnivorous
General Info
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Photo By Liam Quinn , used under CC-BY-SA-2.0 /Cropped and compressed from original
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Waterfowl Family
Geese Genus
Steamer ducks Species
Flightless Steamer-duck