Rosybill Pochard

About the Rosybill Pochard

The rosy-billed pochard (Netta peposaca), alternatively named rosybill or rosybill pochard, is a member of family Anatidae. Though classified as a diving duck, this pochard feeds more like a dabbling duck feeding on seeds roots, sedges, aquatic plants and other grasses. Netta is Ancient Greek for "duck" and peposaca is a transcription of the Guaraní name of this species which means "showy wings", referring to the broad white stripe that is only visible with stretched out wings. Male characteristic features include a bright red bill with a rounded knob at the base.

The rosy-billed pochard is endemic to South America. It is found in Argentina, central Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil. The population in southern Argentina migrates northward during the austral winter, reaching Brazil and southern Bolivia. It is a vagrant to the Falkland Islands.

The rosy-billed pochard is one of five pochard species that make up the genus Netta, which is one of 31 genera of the subfamily Anatinae. Within subfamily Anatinae, there is a tribe called Aythini. This tribe was thought to be limited to the Northern Hemisphere (what was believed to be the Palearctic), and experienced... Wikipedia →