Madagascar Pochard
Aythya innotata
The Madagascar Pochard (Aythya innotata) is a legendary ducks, swans, and geese found in 2 countries, weighing about 685 g. The Madagascar pochard or Madagascan pochard is an extremely rare diving duck of the genus Aythya.
About the Madagascar Pochard
The Madagascar pochard or Madagascan pochard is an extremely rare diving duck of the genus Aythya. Thought to be extinct in the late 1990s, specimens of the species were rediscovered at Lake Matsaborimena near Bemanevika in Madagascar in 2006. By 2017, a captive breeding program had produced a population of around 90 individuals. The birds were reintroduced to the wild in December 2018.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The pochard is a medium-sized duck between 42 and 56 centimeters in size. Juvenile ducks have brown irises and are a pale, dull brown or chestnut colour with a darker stomach. The adults are darker in colour, though during a male duck's first winter, its iris will turn white. Breeding males have dark chestnut heads, chins, throats, breasts, and necks, with blackish brown on the top side of the body. Their wings are dark brown with a white bar. The area under the bodies from the stomach to the tail fades to white, as do the undersides of the wings.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: May, July, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in November. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Madagascar Pochard?
- The pochard is a medium-sized duck between 42 and 56 centimeters in size. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Madagascar Pochard?
- The Madagascar Pochard is a large sized bird weighing about 685 g.
- Where can you see a Madagascar Pochard?
- The Madagascar Pochard occurs in 2 countries, including Madagascar and Uganda.
- What birds look similar to a Madagascar Pochard?
- The Madagascar Pochard is most easily confused with the Baer's Pochard, the New Zealand Scaup and the Ferruginous Duck.
- Is the Madagascar Pochard endangered?
- The Madagascar Pochard is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Madagascar Pochard for real
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