Order
Anseriformes
Family
Anatidae
Genus
Heteronetta
 
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Version 1.0

This is a historic version of this account.  Current version

SPECIES

Black-headed Duck Heteronetta atricapilla

Peter E. Lowther
Version: 1.0 — Published October 15, 2010

Breeding

Introduction

Brood parasitic. The Black-headed Duck is the only precocial, brood parasitic species. Host species of the Black-headed Duck provide parental care for incubation only. Egg white, 43 x 58 mm; incubation period about 24 - 25 days; ducklings brooded by host at most 1 or 2 days before leaving the nest on their own (Weller 1968).
Captive female laid egg in nest of Rosy-billed Pochard (Netta peposaca) during 8 m visit beginning at 21:11; early behavior of two nestlings seemingly quite different, one young – hatched before host’s eggs – was initially quite active climbing over host female and then left the female the next morning; second young – hatched along with host’s young – accompanied the host brood, but at increasing distance until it left on its own 4 days later (Powell 1979, Rees and Hillgarth 1984).
Three species are known to have reared this brood parasite: Rosy-billed Pochard Netta peposaca, Red-fronted Coot Fulica rufifrons, and Red-gartered Coot Fulica armillata; other species reported parasitized include Southern Screamer Chauna torquata; Coscoroba Swan Coscoroba coscoroba; Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor; Limpkin Aramus guarauna; Spotted Rail Paradirallus maculatus; Brown-hooded Gull Chroicocephalus maculipennis; Chimango Caracara Milvago chimango; Snail Kite Rostrhamus sociabilis; Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax; White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi; and Roseate Spoonbill Platalea ajaia (Weller 1968, Höhn 1975; see also Rees and Hillgarth 1984). In captivity, reported hosts have been Rosy-billed Pochard (Rees and Hillgarth 1984), Red Shoveler Anas platalea (Todd 1979), Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus, and Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera (Powell 1979).

Recommended Citation

Lowther, P. E. (2010). Black-headed Duck (Heteronetta atricapilla), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.blhduc1.01