Black-headed Duck (Heteronetta atricapilla)
About the Black-headed Duck
The black-headed duck (Heteronetta atricapilla) is a South American duck in subfamily Oxyurinae of family Anatidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The black-headed duck is the only member of genus Heteronetta and has no subspecies. It is closely related to the "stiff-tailed" ducks of genera Nomonyx, Oxyura, and Biziura. The black-headed duck is the most basal living member of its subfamily, and it lacks the stiff tail and swollen bill of its relatives. Overall much resembling a fairly typical diving duck, its plumage and other peculiarities indicate it may not be a very close relative of the other stiff-tailed ducks, but rather the product of convergent evolution from the ancestors of the stiff-tailed ducks.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 10 recordings for this species: 8 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Argentina, Chile in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Other birds you can hear here
- American Barn OwlTyto furcatarecording
- American Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonotarecording
- American Golden PloverPluvialis dominicarecording
- American KestrelFalco sparveriusrecording
- Andean FlickerColaptes rupicolarecording
- Andean GullChroicocephalus serranusrecording
These are the birds recorded alongside it, not close relatives — the site holds no other member of its genus or family yet.