Relations
The relations of this species among the waterfowl is unresolved. It is morphologically close to shelducks, and particularly the South American sheldgeese, which have highly similar courtship displays. However, mitochondrial DNA sequence analyses of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes indicates that it might belong to a very distinct and ancient "duck" clade, together with Hartlaub's Duck, another African species of uncertain affinities. The wing color pattern, a good morphological indicator of evolutionary relationships in waterfowl, is similar in these two species, and very different from any other waterfowl.
Read more about this topic: Blue-winged Goose
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