Duck 7/15 - Knob-billed/African Comb Duck Lifer 551/688) June 2022

When TK news of this mega lifer  was sighted in Melaka I did not hesitate to go down south the following day before it go awol. Retired already ma I can go anytime. . The first Knob-billed record sighting was in Pulau Burung, Batu Kawan Penang some years back in 2016. So back to our second record sighting ; Facebook was already a buzzed with posting  and we expected a good crowd there during the weekend. We missed the bird in the morning as the bird was skittish and flew away when a farmer on a bike disturbed its feeding. As the crowd get bigger at the site and the duck was not returning to the open field; some left quietly to hunt for it at the vast padi field enclave. Some stayed and waited for its return. At about  4pm we sighted the duck circling the locale but did not land  as we were too intimidating. Some left again to look for it. Almost coming to dusk we got a call Mark as we drive out to the opposite field  to our relieve the duck was roosting in high grass field. And there we have our lifer shot but no full body photo. The guys 15 of us then decide get closer  to flush it out and get some flight shots. 

Never good in BIF shooting Some times birders have two camera setup for handheld with ready BIF setting. Here I was not ready for that with my Fuji XT2. Just set to high speed on auto .

The nearest breeding colony of Comb is in  Thale Noi Southern Thailand. They say there is a 500 strong colony there. The bird seen here is likely an early arrival in late June and  by the looks of it, the bird is an immature  bird. Who know there will be more frequent sighting in the future.  

  

My pathetic BIF shot 

Comb is one of the largest species of duck. Length can range from 56 to 76 cm in length, wingspan ranges from 116 to 145 cm in and weight from 1.03 to 2.9 kg . Adults have a white head freckled with dark spots, and a pure white neck and underparts. The upperparts are glossy blue-black upperparts, with bluish and greenish iridescence especially prominent on the secondaries (lower arm feathers). The male is much larger than the female, and has a large black knob on the bill. Young birds are dull buff below and on the face and neck, with dull brown upperparts, top of the head and eyestripe. Knob-billed ducks are generally larger in size when compared to comb ducks, and flanks are usually lighter (light grey, in females sometimes whitish).

A Black Kite we capture in the morning  ?

Immature knob-billed ducks look like a large greyish female of the cotton pygmy goose (Nettapus coromandelicus) and may be difficult to tell apart if no other birds are around to compare size and hue. However, knob-billed ducks in immature plumage are rarely seen without adults nearby and thus they are usually easily identified too.

The knob-billed duck is silent except for a low croak when flushed.

Uncertainty surrounds the correct systematic placement of this species. Initially, it was placed in the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae. Later, it was assigned to the "perching ducks", a paraphyletic assemblage of waterfowl most of which are intermediate between dabbling ducks and shelducks. As the "perching ducks" were split up, the knob-billed duck was moved to the Tadorninae or shelduck subfamily.

It breeds in still freshwater swamps and lakes in the tropics. It is largely resident, apart from dispersion in the wet season.

This duck feeds on vegetation by grazing or dabbling and to a lesser extent on small fish, invertebrates, and seeds. It can become a problem to rice farmers. Knob-billed ducks often perch in trees. They are typically seen in flocks, small in the wet season, up to 100 in the dry season. Sometimes they separate according to sex.

African birds breed during and after the rainy season and may not breed if the rain is scanty. Knob-billed ducks nest mainly in tree holes, also in tall grass. Males may have two mates at once or up to five in succession. They defend the females and young but not the nest sites.

Females lay 7 to 15 yellowish-white eggs.