Class of Marbled Duck
Marbled duck used to be included among the dabbling ducks, but is now classed as a diving duck. The scientific name, Marmaronetta angustirostris, comes from the Greek marmaros, marbled and netta, a duck, and Latin angustus, narrow or small and rostris billed.
Concentration of Marbled Duck
Marbled duck is formerly bred in large numbers in the Mediterranean region, but is now restricted to a few sites in southern Spain, northwest Africa and in Israel. In the east it survives in the Mesopotamian marshland in southern Iraq and in Iran, as well as isolated pockets in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq and further to the east in western India and western China.
Breeding of Marbled Duck
Marbled ducks have the breeding habitat is lowland where they lay their eggs in long grass or in high trees. They may lay 7 to 10 cream eggs. They are common in private collections but are a nervous and flighty bird. In some areas birds disperse from the breeding grounds, and have been encountered in the winter period in the Sahel zone, south of the Saharan.
Structure of Marbled Duck
The marbled duck is approximately 39-42 cm (15-17 inches) long. Adults are a pale sandy-brown colour, diffusely blotched off-white, with a dark eye-patch and shaggy head. Juveniles are similar but with more off-white blotches. In flight, the wings look pale without a marked pattern, and no speculum on the secondaries. These birds feed mainly in shallow water by dabbling or up-ending, occasionally diving. Little is known of their diet.
Marbled duck as Extinct Bird
Marbled duck is considered vulnerable due to a reduction in population caused by habitat destruction and hunting. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
