pointed tail is diagnostic. Captive photo.
Voice: Usually silent.
Habits: Mainly frequents freshwater ponds and takes, and sometimes visits brackish coastal wetlands. Feeds by dabbling and up-ending to search the shallow bottom for food.
COMMON TEAL
Anas crecca 38 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Male unmistakable. Female (feeding in foreground of photo) distinguished with some difficulty from the Gargany duck by lack of pale eyebrow.
Voice: A short melodic krick.
Habits: Frequents freshwater ponds and lakes; also visits tidal lagoons during migration. Feeds on vegetable matter in shallow water. Like all dabbling ducks, it takes off vertically from the water's surface when disturbed and flies rapidly to another pond.
SPOT-BILLED DUCK
Anas poecilorhyncha 61 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Note diagnostic yellow tip of bill; also look for fine black eye-stripe and white patch in closed wing.
Voice: A Mallard-like quack.
Habits: Occurs in shallow freshwater ponds and lagoons where it feeds by dabbling for vegetable matter along vegetated edges. An adaptable species also found in flooded fields and rice paddies. Much hunted, but recovers quickly in protected areas.
PHILIPPINE DUCK (Philippine Mallard)
Anas luzonica 53 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Unmistakable; sexes similar.
Voice: A Mallard-like quack-quack both in flight and on the water.
Habits: The most numerous duck in the country, both in the lowlands and at montane elevations. Although still seen regularly in freshwater marshes, lakes, ponds and rivers where it feeds by dabbling on the water's surface, it has declined in numbers. Its habits have been little studied. Seems to breed year round, but its nest has never been found in the wild.
MALLARD
Anas platyrhynchos 58 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Male unmistakable, with green head and chestnut breast. Female (photo) distinguished with difficulty from other ducks by facial pattern and short tail.
Voice: Quacks like a domestic duck.
Habits: The most widespread and numerous of all ducks in the world and the wild form of the domestic duck. Adaptable and tolerant to human disturbance. Frequents freshwater marshes, lakes and ponds; seen less often on tidal river estuaries. Avoids tropical conditions and is not successful in this region.
GADWALL
Anas strep era 51 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Top photo shows female on location in Singapore. Note diagnostic wing pattern. Male has bluish-grey flanks and pale head.
Voice: Usually silent.
Habits: Found in freshwater ponds and lakes, where it feeds by dabbling through the water surface, picking out vegetable matter such as seeds, leaves and roots of aquatic plants. Flight is fast, strong and direct.
GARGANEY
Anas querquedula 41 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Small size and rapid flight are characteristic. Breeding mate has prominent white eyebrows. Female has pale brown plumage, with diagnostic light brown stripes across its head.
Voice: Usually silent; sometimes a slight kwak.
Habits: By far the most widespread and numerous migratory duck in the region. Found in prime habitats during the northern winter, sometimes by the thousands. Frequents lakes and reservoirs, also tidal ponds and coastal lagoons, feeding on both vegetable and animal aquatic food found at the water's surface
NORTHERN SHOVELER
Anas clypeata 52 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Photo shows male in captivity. Female is a uniform scaly-brown, but its peculiar bill is always diagnostic.
Voice: A Mallard-like quack.
Habits: Frequents freshwater lakes and reservoirs, but seen less often in coastal wetlands. Feeds by dabbling through the water's surface, extracting both vegetable and tiny animal food with its specialised bill.
COMMON POCHARD
Aythya ferina 44 cm F: Anatidae
Description: Male (photo) unmistakable. Note pate grey body and reddish-brown head. Female is a nondescript brown; lacks the white wing bar in
