Nettapus coromandelianus
The Cotton Pygmy Goose, a diminutive and agile waterfowl, is one of the smallest ducks in the world, typically measuring 26-37 cm (10-14.5 in) in length with a wingspan of 48-60 cm (19-23.5 in) and weighing between 160-400 grams. Males in breeding plumage are striking, featuring a gleaming white face and neck, a dark, iridescent green-black crown, back, and hindneck, and a distinctive black collar separating the white neck from the white breast. A prominent white speculum (wing patch) is visi...
Found primarily in freshwater wetlands, including lakes, ponds, swamps, slow-moving rivers, and flooded grasslands, often with abundant emergent and floating vegetation, typically at low elevations.
Their diet consists mainly of seeds, leaves, and stems of aquatic plants, particularly water lilies, supplemented with aquatic insects, their larvae, and small crustaceans.
Cotton Pygmy Geese are largely diurnal, spending their days foraging and often perching on branches of trees or snags overhanging water, a trait shared with few other waterfowl. Their foraging strategy involves dabbling at the water surface for aquatic vegetation and insects, occasionally making ...
The Cotton Pygmy Goose boasts a wide distribution across tropical Asia and parts of Australasia. Its primary breeding range extends throughout the Indian subcontinent (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal), Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines), an...
Least Concern
- The Cotton Pygmy Goose is considered one of the smallest waterfowl species in the world. - Unlike most ducks, they frequently perch in trees, using branches overhanging water as roosts and lookouts. - Their rapid, agile flight allows them to weave through dense vegetation with remarkable ease. ...