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 birds are modified for an aquatic existence, with webbed feet, bills that are flattened to some extent, and oily feathers that readily shed water. There are 131 species worldwide and 22 species in Southern Africa.
- Mute Swan Cygnus olor introduced
- Knob-billed Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos
- Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus
- South African Shelduck Tadorna cana
- Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis
- White-faced Duck Dendrocygna viduata
- Fulvous Duck Dendrocygna bicolor
- White-backed Duck Thalassornis leuconotus
- African Pygmy-goose Nettapus auritus
- African Black Duck Anas sparsa
- Mallard Anas platyrhynchos introduced
- Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata accidental
- Northern Pintail Anas acuta accidental
- Garganey Anas querquedula accidental
- Cape Teal Anas capensis
- Yellow-billed Duck Anas undulata
- Red-billed Teal Anas erythrorhyncha
- Hottentot Teal Anas hottentota
- Cape Shoveler Anas smithii
- Southern Pochard Netta erythrophthalma
- Maccoa Duck Oxyura maccoa
- Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula introduced
Read more about this topic: List Of Southern African Birds
Famous quotes containing the words geese and/or swans:
“Let the long contention cease! Geese are swans, and swans are geese. Let them have it how they will! Thou art tired; best be still.”
—Matthew Arnold (1822–1888)
“O death, come close mine eyes;
More geese than swans now live, more fools than wise.”
—Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)