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Marbled Duck

Marbled Duck

Marmaronetta angustirostris

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The Marbled Duck is a medium-sized, pale sandy-brown duck with a marbled pattern, a shaggy head and a dark eye patch, found from southern Europe and North Africa across western and central Asia. Once widespread around the Mediterranean, it now breeds in scattered strongholds and moves nomadically. It favours shallow, densely vegetated wetlands in dry landscapes. Habitat loss and hunting have made it Vulnerable.

Did you know?

  • Unusually for a duck, it has been recorded eating ants.
  • In 2011 a single flock of at least 40,000 was counted in the marshes of Iraq.

Voice

Call

About the species

Identification

A slim, pale sandy-brown duck with creamy spots giving a marbled look, a dark smudge through the eye and a shaggy nape. The bill is dark and slender. In flight it looks pale, without a distinct speculum. The sexes are similar.

Family

Anatidae

Size

Large (crow)

Colours

brown, grey, white

About the habitat

Temporary, shallow fresh, brackish or alkaline wetlands with dense emergent vegetation in otherwise dry regions; also coastal lagoons, slow rivers and reservoirs.

Diet

Mainly seeds of marsh plants such as clubrush and tasselweed, as well as aquatic insect larvae, tiny crustaceans and green plants, taken by dabbling and upending in shallow water. Young birds eat mostly invertebrates.

Behaviour

Generally gregarious, sometimes even when nesting, forming small flocks most of the year and occasionally huge winter gatherings. It is nomadic, dispersing from breeding areas as wetlands dry up. It nests well hidden in dense vegetation at the water's edge.

Sources

Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marmaronetta angustirostris, London Wetland Centre, UK - Diliff.jpg

Sound: Joost van Bruggen, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marmaronetta_angustirostris_-_Marbled_Duck_XC431989.mp3

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marbled_duck

See also