Waterfowl | Anseriformes

Eendachtigen | Anseriformes

Waterbirds with a broad bill whose edges carry lamellae on the inside: a comb of horny plates that lets water and mud through while sieving out plant matter, seeds and small animals. At the tip of the bill sits a hard nail for pulling and tearing. The legs are set far back and carry webbed feet, which makes for good swimming and poor walking; the dense layer of down is kept waterproof with oil from the preen gland. The young hatch open-eyed and downy and swim within a day. Once a year all the flight feathers are replaced at once, so the bird cannot fly for weeks and spends that time on open water or deep in bankside cover.

Families in this order

Magpie goose | Anseranatidae1 species
Ducks, swans and geese | Anatidae31 speciesThe bill is put to very different uses in this family: the Black Swan grazes water plants a few decimetres down on a long neck, the shelducks and the goose-like species graze on land, and the Blue Duck of New Zealand's mountain rivers has a leathery flap on each side of the bill tip with which larvae are scraped from between stones without wearing the edge away. The male Musk Duck Biziura carries a large leathery lobe beneath the bill and performs on the water with two slapping kicks and a shrill whistle that carries half a kilometre. Several species nest in tree hollows, and the ducklings drop metres to the ground unharmed when they leave. After breeding all the flight feathers are moulted at once; that time is spent on large, safe waters, sometimes with thousands of birds together.