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The diving ducks, commonly called pochards or scaups, are a category of duck which feed by diving beneath the surface of the water. They are part of Anatidae, the diverse and very large family that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The diving ducks are placed in a distinct tribe in the subfamily Anatinae, the Aythyini.
The greater scaup (Aythya marila), just scaup in Europe or, colloquially, "bluebill" in North America, [3] is a mid-sized diving duck, larger than the closely related lesser scaup and tufted duck. It spends the summer months breeding in Iceland, east across Scandinavia, northern Russia and Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada.
Pochard is a common name used for several species of diving ducks: Four species in the genus Aythya: Common pochard, Aythya ferina; Baer's pochard, Aythya baeri; Ferruginous pochard, Aythya nyroca; Madagascar pochard, Aythya innotata; Three species in the genus Netta: Red-crested pochard, Netta rufina; Rosy-billed pochard or Rosybill, Netta ...
A male mallard duck. Subfamily: Aythyinae, diving ducks (Some 15 species of diving ducks, of worldwide distribution, in two to four genera; The 1986 morphological analysis [10] suggested the probably extinct pink-headed duck of India, previously treated separately in Rhodonessa, should be placed in Netta, but this has been questioned. [15]
Aythya is a genus of diving ducks, with twelve species currently accepted. [2] The genus was described in 1822 by the German zoologist Friedrich Boie, with the type species being greater scaup. [3] [4] The name Aythya comes from the Ancient Greek word αἴθυιᾰ (aithuia), which referred to an unknown diving-bird. [5] [6]
The redhead is a pochard, a diving duck specially adapted to foraging underwater. Their legs are placed further back on the body, which makes walking on land difficult. The webbing on their feet is larger than dabbling ducks and their bills are broader to facilitate underwater foraging.
Traditionally, most ducks were assigned to either the shelducks, the perching ducks, and the dabbling and diving ducks; the latter two were presumed to make up the Anatinae. However, the perching ducks turned out to be a paraphyletic assemblage of various tropical waterfowl that happened to evolve the ability to perch well in their forested ...
The common pochard [2] (/ ˈ p ɒ tʃ ər d /; Aythya ferina), known simply as pochard in the United Kingdom, is a medium-sized diving duck in the family Anatidae. It is widespread across the Palearctic. It breeds primarily in the steppe regions of Scandinavia and Siberia, and winters further south and west.