Torrent duck
Torrent duck | |
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Female (left) and male Colombian torrent duck, Cañón del Río Anaime, Colombia | |
Scientific classification![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Anseriformes |
Family: | Anatidae |
Genus: | Merganetta Gould, 1842 |
Species: | M. armata
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Binomial name | |
Merganetta armata Gould,1842
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Subspecies | |
M. a. colombiana(Des Murs,1845) | |
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Thetorrent duck(Merganetta armata) is a member of theduck,gooseandswanfamilyAnatidae.It is the only member of thegenusMerganetta.It is placed in the shelducksubfamilyTadorninaeafter the "perching duck"assemblage to which it was formerly assigned was dissolved because it turned out to beparaphyletic.[2]
This 43–46-centimetre (17–18 in) longspeciesis a resident breeder in theAndesofSouth America,nesting in small waterside caves and other sheltered spots. Like theblue duck,it holds territories on fast flowing mountain rivers, usually above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). It is a powerful swimmer and diver even in white water, but is reluctant to fly more than short distances. It is not particularly wary when located.
Male torrent ducks have a striking black and white head and neck pattern and a red bill. In flight they show dark wings with a greenspeculum.Females of all subspecies are somewhat smaller than the drakes; they have orange underparts and throat, with the head and upperparts grey and a yellower bill. Juveniles are pale grey above and whitish below.
The male's call is a shrill whistle, while the female's is a throatier whistle.
This is a declining species due to competition for itsinvertebratefood from introducedtrout,pollution, forest destruction, and damming of mountain rivers for hydroelectric schemes. TheChileanpopulation seems to be relatively stable, while the more northern ones are more seriously affected. However, the overall population is still large enough to warrant classification as a Species of Least Concern in theIUCN Redlist.
Subspecies
[edit]Thesubspeciestaxonomy can be confusing. Males of the southernnominate subspeciesM. a. armata,the Chilean torrent duck, have grey back and blackish underparts, with a chestnut belly. Males of the slightly smaller northern subspecies, the Colombian torrent duck,M. a. colombiana,are paler underneath, with streaked grey-brown underparts. Males of a third subspecies, the Peruvian torrent duck,M. a. leucogenis,are intermediate but very variable in plumage; some have entirely black underparts (turnerimorph). Only males of the Chilean torrent duck have a black 'teardrop' mark beneath the eye. The Peruvian torrent duck is sometimes split into 4 subspecies (leucogenis,turneri,garleppiandberlepschi), but these are more likely simply color variations, as they are not limited to distinct areas.
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Juvenile (left) and female Peruvian torrent duck on theUrubamba River,Peru
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Male Peruvian torrent duck on the rocky banks of the Urubamba River, Peru
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Male (top) and female Peruvian torrent duck,turnerimorph
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Male Chilean torrent duck nearFitz Roy,Argentina
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Female Chilean torrent duck near Fitz Roy, Argentina
References
[edit]Data related toTorrent Duckat Wikispecies
Media related toTorrent Duckat Wikimedia Commons
- ^BirdLife International (2016)."Merganetta armata".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2016:e.T22680118A92844656.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22680118A92844656.en.Retrieved12 November2021.
- ^Livezey, Bradley C. (1986)."A phylogenetic analysis of recent anseriform genera using morphological characters"(PDF).Auk.103(4): 737–754.doi:10.1093/auk/103.4.737.
- Steve Madge; Hilary Burn (1988).Wildfowl.Christopher Helm.ISBN978-0-7470-2201-5.