The Zoochat Photographic Guide to the Anseriformes

TeaLovingDave

TeaLovingDave

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15+ year member
Felt like having a crack at this one in tandem with my other two in-progress photographic guides, given the fact that I rather suspect the species within this group will be relatively well-represented within the Zoochat gallery :) I will be primarily using the taxonomy presented on HBW to assist me in this thread, with supplemental information derived from the IUCN website and Wildfowl of Europe, Asia and North America (Reeber 2015).
 
ANSERIFORMES



The Anseriformes is one of the oldest and most well-understood lineages of modern bird; as is the case with the closely-related Galliformes, anatomically-modern members of the group were present during the Cretaceous, and barring small adjustments to the position of taxa such as the Magpie-goose (formerly classified within the Anatidae itself before being recognised to hold a more basal position) and screamers (previously suggested to belong within the Galliformes) the interrelationships between groups of waterfowl are now relatively stable in taxonomic terms.

As such, the Anseriformes is currently recognised to comprise three families:

ANHIMIDAE - Screamers (2 genera, 3 species)

ANSERANATIDAE - Magpie-goose (monotypic)

ANATIDAE - Ducks, Geese and Swans (52 genera, 165 species)
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ANHIMIDAE


This family comprises three extant species within two genera, as follows:

Anhima - Horned Screamer (monotypic)

Chauna - Collared Screamers (2 species)
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Anhima


Horned Screamer (Anhima cornuta)

The range of this species extends throughout much of tropical South America east of the Andes, from northern Colombia and Venezuela in the north to southern Brazil and northeast Bolivia in the south; disjunct populations occur west of the Andes in central Colombia and western Ecuador.

Monotypic.

Photo by @devilfish

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Chauna


Northern Screamer (Chauna chavaria)

The range of this species is restricted to northern Colombia and adjacent northwest Venezuela.

Monotypic.

Photo by @HOMIN96

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Southern Screamer (Chauna torquata)

The range of this species extends through much of southern South America, from southeast Peru and northern Bolivia in the north, through southern Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to central Argentina in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Hipporex

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ANSERANATIDAE


This family comprises a single monotypic genus, as follows:

Anseranas - Magpie-goose (monotypic)
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Anseranas


Magpie-goose (Anseranas semipalmata)

The range of this species extends widely but patchily throughout northern and eastern Australia, and north into south-central New Guinea; reintroduced populations are present in southeast Australia, where the species was widespread until the 19th century.

Monotypic.

Photo by @MagpieGoose

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ANATIDAE


This family comprises approximately 165 species - of which two are potentially no longer extant - within 52 genera as follows:

Dendrocygna - Whistling Ducks (8 species)

Thalassornis - White-backed Duck (monotypic)

Heteronetta - Black-headed Duck (monotypic)

Nomonyx - Masked Duck (monotypic)

Oxyura - Stiff-tail Ducks (6 species)

Biziura - Musk Duck (monotypic)

Malacorhynchus - Pink-eared Duck (monotypic)

Stictonetta - Freckled Duck (monotypic)

Cereopsis - Cape Barren Goose (monotypic)

Coscoroba - Coscoroba Swan (monotypic)

Cygnus - True Swans (6 species)

Branta - Black Geese (6 species)

Anser - White and Grey Geese (10 species)

Clangula - Long-tailed Duck (monotypic)

Somateria - True Eiders (3 species)

Polysticta - Steller's Eider (monotypic)

Melanitta - Scoters (6 species)

Bucephala - Goldeneyes (3 species)

Mergellus - Smew (monotypic)

Lophodytes - Hooded Merganser (monotypic)

Mergus - True Mergansers (4 species)

Histrionicus - Harlequin Duck (monotypic)

Neochen - Orinoco Goose (monotypic)

Chloephaga - Sheldgeese (5 species)

Radjah - Radjah Shelduck (monotypic)

Alopochen - Egyptian Goose (monotypic)

Tadorna - True Shelducks (6 species)

Plectropterus - Spur-winged Goose (monotypic)

Cairina - Muscovy Duck (monotypic)

Sarkidiornis - Comb Ducks (2 species)

Nettapus - Pygmy-geese (3 species)

Callonetta - Ringed Teal (monotypic)

Aix - Mandarin and Wood Ducks (2 species)

Chenonetta - Maned Duck (monotypic)

Hymenolaimus - Blue Duck (monotypic)

Merganetta - Torrent Duck (monotypic)

Pteronetta - Hartlaub's Duck (monotypic)

Cyanochen - Blue-winged Goose (monotypic)

Marmaronetta - Marbled Teal (monotypic)

Asarcornis - White-winged Duck (monotypic)

Netta - Red-crested Pochard and allies (3 species)

Aythya - Scaups and allies (12 species)

Rhodonessa - Pink-headed Duck (monotypic)

Salvadorina - Salvadori's Teal (monotypic)

Tachyeres - Steamerducks (4 species)

Lophonetta - Crested Duck (monotypic)

Speculanas - Spectacled Duck (monotypic)

Amazonetta - Brazilian Teal (monotypic)

Spatula - Shovelers and allies (10 species)

Sibirionetta - Baikal Teal (monotypic)

Mareca - Wigeons (5 species)

Anas - Mallards, Pintails and allies (29 species)
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Dendrocygna


White-faced Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna viduata)

The range of this species represents a widespread distribution throughout the Neotropics east of the Andes from Costa Rica in the north to northern Argentina in the south, sub-Saharan Africa from Mauritania and Senegal in the west to Eritrea in the east and south to the Cape, and into Madagascar and the Comoros; largely absent from the Amazon Basin, and only patchily present in the Congo Basin.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Dormitator

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Black-bellied Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)

The range of this species extends from the southern USA, through Mexico and Central America, into much of South America east of the Andes from Colombia and Venezuela in the north to Paraguay and northern Argentina in the south; disjunct populations occur patchily west of the Andes in western Ecuador and northern Peru.

Two subspecies are recognised:

D. a. fulgens - photo by @Sarus Crane

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D. a. autumnalis - photo by @Dormitator

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Spotted Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna guttata)

The range of this species extends from the southern Philippines and Sulawesi in the west, throughout the Moluccas and eastern Lesser Sundas into New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago in the east, and south from here into the Cape York Peninsula of northeast Australia.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Malayan Tapir

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West Indian Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna arborea)

The range of this species extends patchily throughout the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and into the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Varanidae

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Fulvous Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna bicolor)

The range of this species represents a widespread but patchy distribution of disjunct populations throughout the Neotropics, sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Subcontinent; largely absent from Central America, the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, and the Kalahari Desert. The species is an aggressive colonizer of new territory, having expanded north into the Greater Antilles and southern USA over the course of the 20th Century.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Great Argus

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Plumed Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna eytoni)

The range of this species extends throughout much of northern and eastern Australia, extending into the southeast of New South Wales and Victoria.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Najade

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Wandering Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna arcuata)

The range of this species extends from the Philippines and the Greater Sundas in the west, throughout the Lesser Sundas and Moluccas, into New Guinea and New Britain in the east, and south from here throughout northern and eastern Australia. The species may be extinct in New Britain.

Three subspecies are recognised, one of which may no longer be extant.

D. a. arcuata - photo by @Goura

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D. a. pygmaea
D. a. australis - photo by @Hix

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Lesser Whistling-duck (Dendrocygna javanica)

The range of this species extends throughout much of southern Asia, from eastern Pakistan and adjacent northwest India in the west to southeast China in the east, and south throughout Indochina and the Malay Peninsula into the Greater Sundas and Bali.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Chlidonias

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Thalassornis


White-backed Duck (Thalassornis leuconotus)

The range of this species extends throughout much of eastern and southern Africa, including Madagascar, from Ethiopia in the north to South Africa in the south, and north from the Cape into western DRC; highly fragmented disjunct populations extend throughout the Sahel from Senegal to Chad.

Two subspecies are recognised:

T. l. leuconotus - photo by @JerseyLotte

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T. l. insularis
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Heteronetta


Black-headed Duck (Heteronetta atricapilla)

The range of this species extends throughout much of southern South America; west of the Andes the species is restricted to central Chile and adjacent west-central Argentina, whilst east of the Andes the species extends from Paraguay and southeast Brazil in the north to central Argentina in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Maguari

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Nomonyx


Masked Duck (Nomonyx dominicus)

The range of this species extends in a highly fragmented and patchy distribution from southernmost USA in the north, through Mexico, Central America and the West Indies into much of South America, as far south as northwest Peru west of the Andes and northeast Argentina east of the Andes; absent from the Amazon Basin.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
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Oxyura


Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis)

The summer breeding range of this species extends throughout western North America, from Alaska and northwest Canada in the north to Baja California and central Mexico in the south, and also patchily in northeast USA and southeast Canada in the Great Lakes region, extending from here along the eastern coastline of USA to North Carolina, and in the Greater Antilles; wintering populations occur throughout western and southern USA into Mexico and Central America as far south as El Salvador. Introduced populations exist patchily throughout western Europe and North Africa, and are the active subject of extermination programmes.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive

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Andean Duck (Oxyura ferruginea)

The range of this species extends throughout the Andes, from Colombia in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south.

Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.


Lake Duck (Oxyura vittata)

The range of this species extends throughout much of Chile and Argentina outside of the Andes, as far south as Tierra del Fuego, with wintering populations extending further north throughout Paraguay, Uruguay and southeast Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive

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Blue-billed Duck (Oxyura australis)

The range of this species represents a patchy distribution of disjunct breeding populations in Tasmania, southeast Australia and southwest Australia; wintering populations extend throughout western, central and eastern Australia.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Hix

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Maccoa Duck (Oxyura maccoa)

The range of this species extends throughout southern Africa, from northern Namibia in the west and Zimbabwe in the east, south to the Cape; highly-fragmented disjunct populations occur in eastern Africa from Eritrea in the north to north-central Tanzania in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Writhedhornbill

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White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala)

The summer breeding range of this species extends in a patchy and highly-fragmented distribution of disjunct populations from the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa in the west, through the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Middle East and Caucasus into south-central Siberia, Kazakhstan and northwest China in the east; wintering populations occur patchily from the Iberian Peninsula in the west, through the Mediterranean, Middle East and Arabian Peninsula into the Central Asian Republics, Tien Shan and northwest India in the east.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Tomek

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Biziura


Musk Duck (Biziura lobata)

The range of this species represents a pair of highly-disjunct populations; in southwest Australia; and in Tasmania and southeast Australia as far north as southern Queensland.

Two subspecies are recognised:

B. l. lobata - photo by @Hix

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B. l. menziesi - photo by @Hix

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Cereopsis


Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae)

The range of this species is restricted to coastal southern Australia and Tasmania, from the Recherche Archipelago and adjacent southwest Western Australia in the west to the Bass Strait in the east.

Two subspecies are recognised:

C. n. grisea
C. n. novaehollandiae - photo by @ro6ca66

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Coscoroba


Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba)

The range of this species extends throughout much of southern South America, from the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego to north-central Argentina and northern Chile; wintering populations extend further north into Uruguay, Paraguay and southeast Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Daniel Sörensen

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Cygnus


Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)

The range of this species extends throughout much of southern South America, from the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego, through southern and central Argentina, to central Chile, Uruguay and southernmost Brazil in the north; wintering populations extend into northern Argentina, southern Paraguay and southeast Brazil.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Daniel Sörensen

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Black Swan (Cygnus atratus)

The range of this species extends throughout Australia and Tasmania, barring the arid hub of the continent, with introduced populations occurring worldwide.

Monotypic.

Photo by @WhistlingKite24

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Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

The range of this species extends patchily and - outside Europe - in a highly-fragmented distribution of disjunct populations throughout much of northern Eurasia, from the British Isles, France and the Low Countries in the west, through northern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia to northern China, Mongolia and the Russian Far East; populations outside western and central Europe are migratory and winter to the south, from the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the west to northeast China in the east. Introduced and feral populations occur worldwide.

Monotypic.

Photo by @Daniel Sörensen

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Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

The summer breeding range of this species extends throughout Alaska and western Canada, and patchily into south-central Canada and northern USA; many of the populations in the northern USA are resident. The wintering range of the species extends throughout coastal western North America from southern Alaska in the north to northwest USA in the south.

Monotypic.

Photo by @ThylacineAlive

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Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus)

The summer breeding range of this species extends from Iceland and Scandinavia in the west, throughout Siberia and adjacent regions of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northern China, to the Russian Far East and Kamchatka in the east; wintering populations occur patchily throughout western and central Europe, the Black Sea and Caspian Sea coastlines, eastern China, the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Monotypic.

Photo by @vogelcommando

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Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)

The summer breeding range of this species occurs throughout the Arctic Circle and adjacent tundra regions of Alaska, northern Canada and Siberia; wintering populations occur patchily in western Europe, the southern coastline of the Caspian Sea, eastern China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula, and the western and eastern coastlines of the USA.

Two subspecies are recognised, with a third (jankowskii) suggested to represent an integrade population between the two:

C. c. bewickii - photo by @Goura

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C. c. columbianus - photo by @Pleistohorse

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"jankowskii" - photo by @Maguari

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