Stiff-tailed duck

Stiff-tailed duck; Temporal range: Early Miocene to present
	Male white-headed duck, Oxyura leucocephala
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Tribe:	Oxyurini
Genus:	Oxyura; Bonaparte, 1828
Type species
	Anas rubidus (ruddy duck); Wilson, 1814
Species
	Oxyura australis; Oxyura jamaicensis; Oxyura leucocephala; Oxyura maccoa; Oxyura vittata; †Oxyura vantetsi
	Key: Oxyura vittata Oxyura ferruginea Oxyura maccoa Oxyura leucocephala Oxyura jamaicensis Oxyura australis

The stiff-tailed ducks, the genus Oxyura, are part of the Oxyurini tribe of ducks.

All have, as their name implies, long, stiff tail feathers, which are erected when the bird is resting. All have relatively large, swollen bills. These are freshwater diving ducks. Their legs are set far back, which makes them awkward on land, so they rarely leave the water.

Their uncommon displays involve drumming noises from inflatable throat sacs, head throwing, and erecting short crests. Plumage sequences are complicated, and aging difficult.^{[citation needed]} Plumage is vital for survival because of this animal's tendency to spend time in the water.^{[citation needed]}

Taxonomy

The genus Oxyura was introduced (as a subgenus) in 1828 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte to accommodate a single taxon, Anas rubidus Wilson, 1814. This is now considered to be a synonym of Anas jamaicensis Gmelin 1789, the ruddy duck.^[1]^[2] The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek oxus, meaning "sharp", and oura meaning "tail".^[3]

The six extant members of this genus are distributed widely throughout North America, South America, Australia, Asia, and much of Africa.^[4]

Species

Genus **Oxyura** – Bonaparte, 1828 – six species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Blue-billed duck Male Female	Oxyura australis Gould, 1837	Australia	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Ruddy duck Male Female	Oxyura jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1789)	North and South America (+ British Isles,^[5] France, & Spain (introduced))	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Andean duck Male Female	Oxyura ferruginea (Eyton, 1838)	Andes Mountains of South America	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
White-headed duck Male Female	Oxyura leucocephala (Scopoli, 1769)	Spain, North Africa, and western and central Asia	Size: Habitat: Diet:	EN
Maccoa duck Male	Oxyura maccoa (Eyton, 1838)	eastern Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia to Tanzania and west to eastern Zaire, and southern Africa from Zimbabwe to Cape Province, South Africa	Size: Habitat: Diet:	EN
Lake duck Male Female	Oxyura vittata (Philippi, 1860)	central Chile, Argentina and southern Uruguay	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC

A fossil species from the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene of Jalisco (Mexico) was described as Oxyura zapatanima. It resembled a small ruddy duck or, even more, an Argentine blue-bill. A larger Middle Pleistocene fossil form from the southwestern United States was described as Oxyura bessomi; it was probably quite close to the ruddy duck.

"Oxyura" doksana from the Early Miocene of Dolnice (Czech Republic) cannot be assigned to any anatine subfamily with certainty.^[6]

References

^ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1828). "The genera of North American birds, and a synopsis of the species found within the territory of the United States ; systematically arranged in orders and families (continued)". Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York. 2: 293–432 [390]. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1826.tb00254.x.
^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 501.
^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 287. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Screamers, ducks, geese & swans". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
^ Mullarney, Killian; et al. (2001). Bird Guide. Collins. p. 68. ISBN 0-00-711332-3.
^ Worthy et al. (2007)

Taxonomy

Species

References

Further reading