Hawaiian Duck

Anas wyvilliana

Vulnerable · IUCN Red List

VUVulnerableEndemicOmnivoreRiverinePlatform nestLarge · 843 g

ID tip

Both male and female are mottled brown in color and resemble a female mallard. The males are usually bigger than the females. The speculum feathers of both sexes are green to blue, bordered on both sides by white. The tail is dark overall, unlike the black-and-white tail of a mallard. The feet and legs are orange to yellow-orange. The bill is olive green in the male and dull orange with dark markings in the female. The adult male has a darker head and neck. The female is generally lighter-colored than the male and has plain back feathers. Voice: The Hawaiian duck quacks like a mallard, but its call is softer and it quacks less frequently.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Hawaiian Duck

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is February, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Hawaiian Duck

Regular range

The map shades 1 country with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

About the Hawaiian Duck

The Hawaiian duck or koloa is a species of bird in the family Anatidae that is endemic to the large islands of Hawaiʻi. Taxonomically, the koloa is closely allied with the mallard. It differs in that it is monomorphic and non-migratory. As with many duck species in the genus Anas, Hawaiian duck and mallards can interbreed and produce viable offspring, and the koloa has previously been considered an island subspecies of the mallard. However, all major authorities now consider this form to be a distinct species within the mallard complex. Recent analyses indicate that this is a distinct species that arose through ancient hybridization between mallard and the Laysan duck.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Brown Teal vs Hawaiian Duck

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