Ducks, Geese and Swans
Order: Anseriformes. Family: Anatidae
The family Anatidae includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl, such as geese and swans. These are birds that are modified for an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. There are 131 species worldwide and 29 species which occur in Afghanistan.
- Mute Swan Cygnus olor
- Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus
- Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons
- Greylag Goose Anser anser
- Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus
- Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
- Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
- Cotton Pygmy-goose Nettapus coromandelianus
- Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
- Falcated Duck Anas falcata
- Gadwall Anas strepera
- Baikal Teal Anas formosa
- Common Teal Anas crecca
- Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
- Northern Pintail Anas acuta
- Garganey Anas querquedula
- Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
- Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris
- Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina
- Common Pochard Aythya ferina
- Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca
- Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
- Greater Scaup Aythya marila
- Velvet Scoter Melanitta fusca
- Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula
- Smew Mergellus albellus
- Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
- Goosander Mergus merganser
- White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala
Read more about this topic: List Of Birds Of Afghanistan
Famous quotes containing the words geese and/or swans:
“the clanging chains
of geese are harnessed to the moon:”
—Roy Campbell (1902–1957)
“I know of the sleepy country, where swans fly round
Coupled with golden chains, and sing as they fly.
A king and a queen are wandering there, and the sound
Has made them so happy and hopeless, so deaf and so blind
With wisdom, they wander till all the years have gone by....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)