Eastern Spot-billed Duck

The eastern spot-billed duck is a mallard-sized dabbling duck with a long neck, a scaled pattern across the grey body and a blue wing speculum. Its head and neck are paler than the body, while the black bill ends in the bright yellow spot that supplies the common name. Adults measure about fifty-five to sixty-three centimetres long, span eighty-three to ninety-five centimetres, and weigh roughly 790 to 1,500 grams. Males and females are broadly similar compared with many strongly dimorphic ducks. (Wikipedia, general species account)

This species breeds in East and Southeast Asia and occupies freshwater lakes and marshes in fairly open country. It feeds mainly on plant material by dabbling, with much feeding done in the evening or at night. Breeding timing varies with rainfall and water conditions but generally falls between April and July. The nest is concealed in vegetation on the ground near water. A normal clutch contains seven to nine eggs; incubation starts after the final egg is laid, synchronising hatching about twenty-four days later. (Wikipedia, general species account)