Hartlaub's Ducks
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Hartlaub's Duck (Pteronetta hartlaubii) is a dark rich chestnut duck of African forests. Formerly included in the paraphyletic ( = some, but not all, of the descendants from a common ancestor) "perching duck" assemblage, it was moved to the dabbling ducks later. However, it is fairly distinct from the usual dabbling ducks, being placed in the monotypic (one single species) genus Pteronetta to reflect this.
Analysis of mtDNA sequences of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes (Johnson & Sorenson, 1999) suggests that it belongs into a very distinct clade - possibly a subfamily of their own - together with the Blue-winged Goose, another African species of waterfowl with uncertain affinities. Remarkably, the upper wing plumage pattern - perhaps the one reliable morphological marker for relationships in the ducks and their close relatives - is not only nearly alike in both species, but unique among all living waterfowl (Madge & Burn, 1987).
Hartlaub's Duck is resident in equatorial West and Central Africa, from Guinea and Sierra Leone east through Nigeria to Sudan, and south to Gabon, Congo and Zaire.
This bird is named after the German naturalist Gustav Hartlaub.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Diet / Feeding:
Ducks generally feed on larvae and pupae usually found under rocks, 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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