Indian Spot-Billed duck
A large grayish-brown duck and has a scaly patterned body with a green
speculum bordered by white, and a diagnostic yellow-tipped black bill and a
red spot at the base of the bill. The name is derived from the
red spot at the base of the bill that is found in the mainland Indian
population.
Local Names :
Garam-Pai, Gugral (Hindi)
Pullichundan Tharavu (
Malayalam)
It is a bird of freshwater lakes and marshes in fairly open country and
feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at
night.
it is a surface feeder , obtaining its food chiefly by tipping or
up-ending in shallow water. when reaching down for food thus, the tail end
of the bird sticks out comically above the surface, the vertical stance
being maintained by a kicking of the legs.
It nests on the ground in vegetation near water, nest is a pad of grass
and weeds amongst herbage on marshy margins of tanks. and lays 6 to 12
eggs. eggs are greyish buff or greenish white.
They are seen isolated from other species and usually in pairs or small
groups and when disturbed they can take off easily and nearly vertically
from the water.
References
The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)
Wikipedia
Pictures:
Kaikondrahalli Lake, Bangalore ( 2018)
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