Family ANATIDAE Leach, 1820

Museums

Regional Maps

• Anatidae Leach, W.E. 1820. Eleventh Room. pp. 65-70 in Leach, W.E. Synopsis of the Contents of the British Museum. London : British Museum.

  Secondary source:

   Bock, W.J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1-281 [133].

Introduction

Anatidae (true ducks, geese and swans) are recognised as a full family. DNA analysis, osteology and interpretation of the family has confirmed the position of the family as part of the cosmopolitan Order Anseriformes. Worldwide there are 146 species in 45 genera, 27 of which are Australian, represented here by 28 subspecies. Hybridization between several of the species has been recorded.

Ducks and geese are more often seen in pairs to small flocks but some show gregarious tendencies forming large flocks during winter or in dry periods when water is scarce. Their calls are generally restricted to communication between pairs but in flight several utter loud calls. All inhabit wetland habitats, although some, such as the Pacific Black Duck and Australian Wood Duck are frequently seen in urban parks and gardens. All are herbivorous, many also feeding on small marine invertebrates.

Breeding behaviour in the family is complex; it usually follows the onset of wet seasons or after abnormal rains. Pairs are maintained as succinct pairings, females construct the nest of grasses in addition to adding fine down from their own breasts in situations such as under grass or reed tussocks or tree hollows. Incubation is undertaken by the both sexes. The eggs, numbering up to 12 in a clutch, have an elliptical shape with a slightly oiled appearance; the base colour varies between a pale blue-green, creamy white to white and are generally unmarked apart from staining through sitting on decaying nesting materials. The young are precocial and able to leave the nest shortly after hatching. Assistance to leave is often supplied by the parent carrying or pushing the young from tree hollows. They are attended to by the adult for the first few weeks after hatching but quickly become independent.

Excluded Taxa

Vagrant Species

CAVS:0800
ANATIDAE: Anas acuta Linnaeus, 1758 [Northern Pintail; four records of vagrants Darwin, NT, Wyndham and Mandura, WA; and near Grafton, NSW] — Agar, G., Jaensch, R. & Vervest, R. 1988. A Northern Pintail Anas acuta in Australia. Australian Bird Watcher 12(6): 204-205 [204] (distributional reference); del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Bird of the World. Barcelona : Lynx Edicions Vol. 1 696 pp. [608]; International Ornithological Committee 2003. List of International English Names of Birds of the World.

CAVS:9975
ANATIDAE: Anas crecca Linnaeus, 1758 [Eurasian Teal; vagrant to Cocos (Keeling) Islands.] — del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Bird of the World. Barcelona : Lynx Edicions Vol. 1 696 pp. [602]; Johnson, K., Carboneras, C., Christie, D. & Kirwan, G.M. 4 Mar, 2020. Green-winged Teal Anas crecca. Birds of the World. 1.0. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/home (accessed 28 Sep, 2020, as Green-winged Teal)

CAVS:8068
ANATIDAE: Branta canadensis moffitti (Linnaeus, 1758)

CAVS:8069
ANATIDAE: Mareca penelope (Linnaeus, 1758) [Eurasian Wigeon]

CAVS:0905
ANATIDAE: Spatula clypeata (Linnaeus, 1758) [Northern Shoveler; vagrant to NSW, Vic and SA] — Anonymous 1969. An Index of Australian Bird Names. Division of WIldlife Research Technical Paper. Canberra : CSIRO Vol. No. 20 pp. 93. [14]; Marchant, S. & Higgins, P. (coordinators) 1990. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Melbourne : Oxford University Press Vol. 1 Pt A 735 pp. 53 pls. [1349-1350]; International Ornithological Committee 2003. List of International English Names of Birds of the World.; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [67]

CAVS:0798
ANATIDAE: Tadorna (Casarca) variegata (Gmelin, 1789) [Paradise Shelduck; vagrant to Lord Howe Island] — International Ornithological Committee 2003. List of International English Names of Birds of the World.; Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [15, 65, 67]; Simpson, K. & Day, N. 2010. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria : Penguin Group (Australia) 8, pp. 381. [334]

General References

Callaghan, D. & Harshman, J. 2005. Chapter 2. Taxonomy and systematics. pp. 14-26 in Kear, J. (ed.). Ducks, Geese and Swans. Oxford : Oxford University Press 1, 908 pp.

Christidis, L. & Boles, W.E. 2008. Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing 288 pp. [62]

Gonzalez, J., Düttmann, H. & Wink, M 2009. Phylogenetic relationships based on two mitochondrial genes and hybridization patterns in Anatidae. Journal of Zoology, London 279: 310-318

Johnson, K.P. & Sorenson, M.D. 1998. Comparing molecular evolution in two mitochondrial protein coding genes (cytochrome b and ND2) in the dabbling ducks (tribe: Anatini). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 10: 82-94

Johnson, K.P. & Sorenson, M.D. 1999. Phylogeny and biogeography of dabbling ducks (genus: Anas): a comparison of molecular and morphological evidence. Auk 116: 792-805

Livezey, B.C. 1991. A phylogenetic analysis and classification of Recent dabbling ducks (tribe Anatini) based on comparative morphology. Auk 108: 471-507

History of changes