Stiff-tailed duck
The stiff-tailed ducks, the genus Oxyura, are part of the Oxyurini tribe of ducks.
| Stiff-tailed duck Temporal range: Early Miocene to present | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male white-headed duck, Oxyura leucocephala | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Tribe: | Oxyurini |
| Genus: | Oxyura Bonaparte, 1828 |
| Type species | |
| Anas rubidus (ruddy duck) Wilson, 1814 | |
| Species | |
|
Oxyura australis | |
 | |
| Key:
Oxyura vittata
Oxyura ferruginea
Oxyura maccoa
Oxyura leucocephala
Oxyura jamaicensis
Oxyura australis | |
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 unusual displays involve drumming noises from inflatable throat sacs, head throwing, and erecting short crests. Plumage sequences are complicated, and aging difficult. Plumage is vital for survival because of this animals tendency to spend time in the water.
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
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | O. australis | Blue-billed duck | Australia |
 | O. jamaicensis | Ruddy duck | North and South America (+ British Isles,[5] France, & Spain (introduced)) |
 | O. ferruginea | Andean duck | Andes Mountains of South America |
 | O. leucocephala | White-headed duck | Spain, North Africa, and western and central Asia |
 | O. maccoa | Maccoa duck | eastern Africa from Sudan and Ethiopia to Tanzania and west to eastern Zaire, and southern Africa from Zimbabwe to Cape Province, South Africa |
_RWD.jpg.webp) | O. vittata | Lake duck | central Chile, Argentina and southern Uruguay |
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)
Further reading
- Worthy, Trevor H.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Jones, C.; McNamara, J.A. & Douglas, B.J. (2007): Miocene waterfowl and other birds from central Otago, New Zealand. J. Syst. Palaeontol. 5(1): 1-39. doi:10.1017/S1477201906001957 (HTML abstract)
