Eastern Spot-billed Duck: how to recognise it
A bird of Asia. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Greg Peterson · CC BY-NC-SA · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Anas zonorhyncha
- Family
- Ducks, Geese, and Swans
- Size
- About 61 cm
- Habitat
- Ponds, lakes, rice fields and slow rivers
- Found in
- Asia
The key marks
Large dabbling duck with a pale buff head, a dark crown and eye-stripe, a black bill with a yellow tip and orange legs; both sexes look alike. Mallard drakes have a green head and plain yellow bill; females have an orange bill.
Voice
Loud quacks, much like a Mallard's.
Good to know
Male and female look almost the same, unlike Mallards, and it feeds in shallow water by dabbling.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Mallard. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in ponds, lakes, rice fields and slow rivers. It is especially common in Japan and China. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.