And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. (Gen 1:21-22 KJV)

Today we only have 22 more Anatidae family members to show you, but it will take 14 different genera to present them. The largest and the first genus, with 7 species, is the Shelducks.

Shelducks are large birds in the Tadorna genus. Many consider them as intermediate between geese and ducks in size. The sexes are colored slightly differently in most species, and all have a characteristic upperwing coloration in flight: the tertiary remiges form a green speculum, the secondaries and primaries are black, and the coverts (forewing) are white. Their diet consists of small shore animals (winkles, crabs etc.) as well as grasses and other plants.

The genus name comes from the French name Tadorne for the common shelduck. It may originally derive from Celtic roots meaning “pied waterfowl”, essentially the same as the English “shelduck”

Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)
Raja Shelduck (Tadorna radjah)
Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea)
South African Shelduck (Tadorna cana)
Australian Shelduck (Tadorna tadornoides)
Paradise Shelduck (Tadorna variegata)

• Paradise Shelducks of New Zealand often have one mating partner for life.

Crested Shelduck (Tadorna cristata)

Each of the next 5 Ducks and Teals are the only ones in their genus.

Pink-eared Duck (Malacorhynchus membranaceus)

Salvadori’s Teal (Salvadoran waigiuensis)

Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata)

• Ducks have been domesticated as pets and farm animals for more than 500 years, and all domestic ducks are descended from either the mallard or the Muscovy duck. Mallards, especially, are easy to crossbreed with other types of ducks, and mallards often hybridize with all types of ducks at local ponds.

White-winged Duck (Asarcornis scutulata)

Hartlaub’s Duck (Pteronetta hartlaubii)

Two of my favorite Ducks, which we get to see often, are the Wood and Mandarin Ducks in the Aix genus. The Wood Ducks are local to us and are a treat to see their evidence of the Master’s Hand. Their cousin, the Mandarin Ducks are in many zoos and Lakeland, FL (right near here) placed some in one of their lakes.

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata)

The Maned Duck is again an only species in its genus, the Chenonetta.
Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata)

The Pygmy Geese are only three, but are in two different genera. The Nerthus and the Nettapus.
African Pygmy Goose (Nerthus auritus)
Cotton Pygmy Goose (Nettapus coromandelianus)
Green Pygmy Goose (Nettapus pulchellus)

The last four for today are in four genera, and include two Teals and two Ducks.

Brazilian Teal (Amazonetta brasiliensis)

Ringed Teal (Callonetta leucophrys)

Crested Duck (Lophonetta specularioides) EXTINCT

Bronze-winged Duck (Speculanas specularis)

One of the comments made last week mentioned that they didn’t realize how many Ducks and family members there are. Here are a couple of “Duck Facts”:

The duck is a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. They are related to swans and geese.

• Ducks are mostly aquatic birds living in both fresh water and sea water and found on every continent except for Antarctica.
• A male duck is called a drake, a female duck a hen, and a baby duck a duckling.
• Ducks are omnivores. They feed on aquatic plants, small fish, insects, worms, grubs and more. People often feed domesticated ducks bread.
• Diving ducks and sea ducks search for food fairly deep underwater. To be able to stay underwater more easily, diving ducks are quite heavy.
• Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water, on land, or by ducking their head underwater. Along the edge of their beak is a comb-like structure called a pecten, that enables them to hold slippery food and filter nutrients out of the water.

These Facts are from Fun Duck Facts for Kids (and adults)

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There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: (Job 28:7 KJV)

“God’s Greatness Medley” ~ Faith Baptist Orchestra

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More Sunday Inspirations

Anatidae – Ducks, Geese and Swans Family

Sunday Inspiration – Whistling, White-backed Ducks, and Geese

Sunday Inspiration – Geese and Swans

Sunday Inspiration – Duck and Geese

Hope for Hard Times

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