Maccoa Duck
Oxyura maccoa
The Maccoa Duck (Oxyura maccoa) is a rare ducks, swans, and geese found in 10 countries, weighing about 674 g. The Maccoa duck is a stiff-tailed diving duck found across Eastern and Southern Africa.
About the Maccoa Duck
The Maccoa duck is a stiff-tailed diving duck found across Eastern and Southern Africa.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
As members of the stiff-tailed duck group, Maccoas are often found wading in the water with their tail feathers cocked upwards. As diving ducks, their bodies are specialized for being agile underwater swimmers and thus have sacrificed the characteristics that allow them to move well on land. As a result, their legs are set further back on their bodies which makes them awkward when walking out of water. Voice: When putting on their mating displays, males will often give out short whistles or will produce a prrrr'ing sound for 2 or 3 seconds. When feeling threatened, both males and females will emit low grunts.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in United Kingdom.
When to see it
The Maccoa Duck can be seen all year round, with peak activity in November. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Maccoa Duck?
- As members of the stiff-tailed duck group, Maccoas are often found wading in the water with their tail feathers cocked upwards. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Maccoa Duck?
- The Maccoa Duck is a large sized bird weighing about 674 g.
- Where can you see a Maccoa Duck?
- The Maccoa Duck occurs in 10 countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya and Botswana.
- What birds look similar to a Maccoa Duck?
- The Maccoa Duck is most easily confused with the Lake Duck, the White-headed Duck and the Blue-billed Duck.
- Is the Maccoa Duck endangered?
- The Maccoa Duck is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Maccoa Duck for real
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