Endangered
Meller's Duck
Anas melleri
Meller's Duck is a bird in the family Anatidae (order Anseriformes) — Anas melleri, recorded as Endangered and tied to Madagascar.
Appearance
The speculum feathers are green as in some of its relatives, but unlike in these, it is bordered white as in the mallard. Its body is dark brown with narrow paler fringes to feathers on upper parts and wider fringes on lower parts. Its bill is pale grey, with dark patches at the base, and is larger than normal.
Published measurements include mass about 45.
Range and habitat
It is endemic to eastern Madagascar. Although a population was established on Mauritius in the mid-18th century, this is on the verge of extinction due to habitat loss and competition by feral domestic ducks.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Breeding
Meller's duck breeds apparently during most of the year except May–June on Madagascar, dependent on local conditions. The Mauritian population has been recorded to breed in October and November. Unlike most of their closer relatives—with the exception of the African black duck—they are fiercely territorial during the breeding season. Furthermore, pairs remain mated until the young are independent.
In crisis
This species is listed as an endangered species by the IUCN Red List. The Lac Alaotra wetlands, where historically the largest number of these birds was to be found, have suffered habitat destruction on a large scale in the latter half of the 20th century, and local waterbird populations have declined dramatically. Although a captive breeding program exists (part of the European Endangered Species Programme), the species is not very often kept in zoos either. It can be more frequently seen in Europe, such as in EEP members Cologne Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, Durrell Wildlife Park, and Zürich Zoo.
Meller's Duck is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Meller's Duck, Wikidata item Q917490. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
