Black Mallard [1] ( lat. Anas zonorhyncha ) is a waterfowl from the genus of river ducks . It was previously considered a subspecies of the variegated mallard - Anas poecilorhyncha zonorhyncha , but in 2006 it was isolated in a separate species [2] .
| Black mallard |
 |
| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
|
| International scientific name |
|---|
Anas zonorhyncha
Swinhoe , 1866 |
| Security status |
|---|
Least ConcernedIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 22736042 |
|
Content
Outwardly, black mallards resembles females of an ordinary mallard , but slightly less. Wing length 24.0-29.3 cm, weight 0.75-1.5 kg. Males are on average slightly larger than females. Sexual dimorphism is not expressed, males and females are colored similarly. Bright mating plumage in the drakes is absent. The entire dorsal side is dark brown with rusty streaks, the sides are slightly lighter, the tail is blackish, the bottom is dirty white with gray-brown spots, larger on the chest, and obscure streaks, the chest to the belly gradually darkens. The belly is brownish-brown, the undertail is blackish-brown. The head is reddish-brown, the feathers on the back of the head are wide, and on the cheeks with narrow black rod and end spots, the head of the head is darker. From the beak to the back of the head, light streaks pass over the eyes, under which narrow dark streaks pass through the eyes. The bottom of the head is pale white. The rainbow is brown. The beak is black with a yellow top and a dark marigold. Sometimes at the base of the beak there are two light vertical stripes. The goiter is dull whitish-buffy with dark streaks. The wings above are gray-brown with a violet-blue or blue-green mirror , bordered in front and behind by black inner and white outer stripes. Third-degree feathers are gray-brown with white rims on the outer webs. The lower wing coverts and axillary feathers are white. The tail feathers are dirty white with wide gray-brown transverse stripes. The legs are orange.
It lives in East Asia : in the south of Eastern Siberia from Transbaikalia to Primorye , Southern Sakhalin , the southern Kuril Islands - Kunashir and Shikotan , in North-Western and Eastern Mongolia , on the Korean Peninsula , in China (except for the western half), in all the Japanese islands and in Taiwan . The total population in nature is estimated at about 0.8-1.6 million individuals [2] .
