Yellow-billed Duck

Yellow-billed duck Thesen Island, Western Cape

Thesen Island, Knysna, South Africa

The yellow-billed duck  is a very common resident in southern and eastern Africa although it is most abundant in South Africa. Its preferred habitats are slow moving or still freshwater  lakes, pans, swamps, marshes, rivers and streams.  Generally a short distance nomad, the yellow-billed duck travels between different lakes and wetlands, moving according to the season and water availability. Outside the breeding season, it is a gregarious bird and gathers in large flocks.

Feeding

The yellow-billed duck is a "crepuscular" (twilight) and nocturnal  dabbling duck that feeds mainly on plant food on the bottom of shallow stretches of water.  However, it hunts some animal prey including insects and snails.

Breeding (all year)

The yellow-billed duck is briefly monogamous and a solitary nester  The female yellow-billed duck constructs a nest in dense undergrowht close to water that consists of a shallow depression lined with fine plant matter.  Two to ten eggs are incubated by the female and the chicks are also reared by their mother. Unlike their parents, the chicks feed largely on invertebrates.

Wildfile Specials
  • The yellow-billed duck has an unusually complex courtship display with preening, flight acrobatics, synchronised swimming, strange calls, and fighting
  • Yellow-billed ducks have no visual "sexual dichotomy" (they are identical in appearance) and the male plumage is plain compared with the drakes of other species.. Maybe this is why their courtship display needs to carry more conviction.
  • .The bond between male and female yellow-billed duck is brief and they break up before the chicks hatch..
  • Male and female yellow-billed ducks have different life spans. Unlike humans, male ducks outlive females with an average lifespan of  4 years and 4 months while the female lives for only just over 3 years.
  • When yellow-billed ducks molt, like other ducks, they are flightless for three to four weeks. This makes foraging difficult and  leaves them vulnerable to predators.
  • Hunting takes a huge toll on yellow-billed ducks with gunshots  causing over 25% of deaths.