The North American Whistling-Ducks, Pochards, and Stifftails PDF
Preview The North American Whistling-Ducks, Pochards, and Stifftails
The North American Whistling-Ducks, Pochards, and Stifftails Paul A. Johnsgard Although the 12 species representing three waterfowl tribes described in this volume are not closely related, they fortuitously provide an instructive example of adaptive evolutionary radiation within the much larger waterfowl lineage (the family Anatidae), especially as to their divergent morphologies, life histories, and social behaviors. The whistling-ducks (Dendrocygna), with three known North American species, are notable for their permanent pair-bonds, extended biparental family care, and strong social cohesion. In contrast, males of the five typical pochards of North American diving ducks (Aythya) establish monogamous pair-bonds that are maintained only long enough to assure that the female’s eggs are fertilized. The endpoint of this behavioral gradient, promiscuity or polygyny, exists among at least some of the typical stifftails (Oxyura). Such diverse reproductive strategies have exerted powerful evolutionary influences on interspecies variations in sexual dimorphism, sexual behavior, anatomy, ecology, and other traits. This volume includes more than 63,000 words, plus some 200 maps, photos, drawings, and sketches, and nearly 650 literature citations. It is the last of five volumes that describe all 55 waterfowl species that have been historically documented in North America; collectively, the volumes total over 300,000 words, with nearly 3,000 literature citations, and more than 600 maps, photos, drawings, and sketches. ISBN: 978-1-60962-110-0 doi: 10.13014/K28913SK Zea Books Lincoln, Nebraska - , , the north american whistling ducks pochards and stifftails The North American Whistling-Ducks, Pochards, and Stifftails Paul A. Johnsgard School of Biological Sciences University of Nebraska–Lincoln Zea Books, Lincoln, Nebraska 2017 My five volumes (Johnsgard, 2016–17) on North American waterfowl are dedicated to the memory of Hans Albert (“Al”) Hochbaum (1911–1988), who proved that waterfowl monographs can be written by one with the eyes of a naturalist, the pen of an artist, and the heart of a poet. Text, photos, and illustrations copyright © 2017 Paul A. Johnsgard ISBN: 978-1-60962-110-0 https://doi.org/10.13014/K28913SK Composed in Adobe Garamond and Imprint MT Shadow types. Spot illustrations: p. 1, Lesser scaup, male; p. 2, Redhead, pair; p. 6, Ring-necked duck, pair; p. 20, Black-bellied whistling-duck, pair; p. 22, Black-bellied whistling-duck, adult; p. 52, Canvasback, pair; p. 115, Greater scaup, male; p. 129, Ruddy duck, male-tail-cocking in front of female; p. 183, Ruddy duck, courting group Zea Books are published by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries Electronic (pdf) edition available online at http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/ Print edition available from http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/unllib UNL does not discriminate based upon any protected status. Please go to unl.edu/nondiscrimination Abstract Although the 12 species representing three waterfowl tribes described in this volume are not closely related, they fortuitously provide an instructive example of adaptive evolutionary radia- tion within the much larger waterfowl lineage (the family Anatidae), especially as to their diver- gent morphologies, life histories, and social behaviors. The whistling-ducks (Dendrocygna), with three known North American species, are notable for their permanent pair-bonds, extended biparental family care, and strong social cohesion. In contrast, males of the five typical pochards of North American diving ducks (Aythya) establish monogamous pair-bonds that are maintained only long enough to assure that the female’s eggs are fertilized. The endpoint of this behavioral gradient, promiscuity or polygyny, exists among at least some of the typical stifftails (Oxyura). Such diverse reproductive strategies have exerted powerful evolutionary influences on interspecies variations in sexual dimorphism, sexual behav- ior, anatomy, ecology, and other traits. For example, the locomotory anatomies and swimming abilities of the three groups vary greatly. The whistling-ducks are all long-legged species that are well adapted to both walking and swimming but are poor at diving. All five North American pochards swim and dive superbly but walk awkwardly on land. They usually nest above water in emergent vegetation or very close to water. The two North American stiff-tailed ducks are among the most accomplished swimmers and divers of all waterfowl. They construct easily accessible, semifloating reed nests among emer- gent vegetation, but their hind-set legs and large feet have become so specialized for aquatic lo- comotion that they can barely walk on land. The flying abilities of the three groups also diverge greatly. The pochards are all remarkably swift fliers: the canvasback has been clocked in excess of 70 mph, and radio-tagged lesser scaups have flown more than 2,000 miles from North Dakota to Cuba in as few as three days. In con- trast, the whistling-ducks are among the slowest flyers of all North American ducks. Their tropi- cal populations are mostly nonmigratory, although fulvous whistling-ducks have been known to cross the 90-mile ocean gap between Florida and Cuba. Lastly, stiff-tailed ducks have such small wing areas and correspondingly high wing-loading that they typically dive, rather than fly, to es- cape danger. Ruddy ducks can take flight only after a running start, reaching air speeds of only about 45 miles per hour. Their seasonal migrations are relatively prolonged, so they are among the last waterfowl to arrive on their northernmost breeding areas. Such long migrations are prob- ably undertaken by spreading them out over many shorter segments. This volume includes more than 63,000 words, plus some 200 maps, photos, drawings, and sketches, and nearly 650 literature citations. It is the last of five volumes that describe all 55 wa- terfowl species that have been historically documented in North America; collectively, the vol- umes total over 300,000 words, with nearly 3,000 literature citations, and more than 600 maps, photos, drawings, and sketches. 5 Contents List of Distribution Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 List of Figures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 List of Photographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 II. Species Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Tribe Dendrocygnini (Whistling-Ducks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Fulvous Whistling-Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 West Indian Whistling-Duck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Tribe Aythyini (Pochards) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Canvasback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Eurasian (Common) Pochard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Redhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Ring-necked Duck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Tufted Duck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Greater Scaup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Lesser Scaup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Tribe Oxyurini (Stiff-tailed Ducks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Masked Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Ruddy Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 III. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159 The Birds of North America Monographs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Taxonomic Works and General Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 National, Regional, and Local Surveys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162 7 8 Contents Whistling-Ducks: Multiple Taxa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Fulvous Whistling-Duck. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 West Indian Whistling-Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Pochards: Multiple Taxa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Canvasback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Eurasian (Common) Pochard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Redhead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Ring-necked Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 Tufted Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Greater Scaup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Lesser Scaup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Stiff-tailed Ducks: Multiple and World Taxa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Masked Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Ruddy Duck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
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