Bernier's Teals or Madagascar Teals
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Bernier's Teal Anas bernieri (also known as Madagascar Teal) is a duck species of the genus Anas. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is found only along the west coast. This bird is threaten from extinction because of trapping, shooting and forest destruction.
It prefers mangroves and rarely leaves this habitat where it favors open shallow ponds and lakes, preferably brackish.
The binomial commemorates the French surgeon Chevalier J A Bernier.
Description
This duck is 40 to 45 cm in length, and is predominately warm brown all over with conspicuous black scalloping, heaviest on flanks and breast. It has a black speculum, and its bill is pinkish gray and slightly upturned.
Diet / Feeding
They tend to eat invertabrates.
Nesting / Breeding
They nest in tree cavities, mainly mangrove.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Diet / Feeding:
Teals usually feeds by dabbling, upending or grazing; it may submerge its head and on occasion even dive to reach food. In the breeding season it eats mainly aquatic invertebrates, such as crustaceans, insects and their larvae, molluscs and worms. In winter, it shifts to a largely granivorous diet, feeding on seeds of aquatic plants and grasses, including sedges and grains. Diurnal throughout the breeding season, in winter they are often crepuscular or even nocturnal feeders.
Ducks generally feed on larvae and pupae often found under rocks, as well as aquatic animals, plant material, seeds, small fish, snails and crabs.
Feeding Ducks ...
We all enjoy ducks and many of us offer them food to encourage them to come over and stay around - and it works! Who doesn't like an easy meal!
However, the foods that we traditionally feed them at local ponds are utterly unsuitable for them and are likely to cause health problems down the road. Also, there may be local laws against feeding this species of bird - so it's best to check on that rather than facing consequences at a later stage.
- Click here to find out which foods to feed them that will offer the nutrition they need to survive a cold winter and remain healthy
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