Cotton pygmy goose

Cotton pygmy goose
	Male (behind), and female, race albipennis
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Nettapus
Species:	N. coromandelianus
Binomial name
	Nettapus coromandelianus; Gmelin, 1789
Subspecies
	N. c. coromandelianus; N. c. albipennis;

The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal^[2] (Nettapus coromandelianus) is a small perching duck which breeds in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Southeast Asia and south to Queensland.

Description

Small individuals of this species are the smallest waterfowl on earth, at as little as 160 g (5.6 oz) and 26 cm (10 in). The goose-like bill is short and deep at the base. The head is rounded and the legs are short. The plumage is mostly white. The male in breeding plumage has a glossy greenish black crown and a prominent black collar. In flight the wings are green with a white band. The female is paler, and the white band on the wing is smaller or lacking. The nonbreeding male resembles the female except for his broader white wing band.

Distribution

This species is widely distributed across Asia, its distribution extending to Australia and the Middle East.^[1] Northern populations make long-distance migrations south in the winter.^{[citation needed]}

Behaviour

This species feeds on vegetable matter, but may also take insects and other small animals.^{[citation needed]} It nests in natural hollows, such as tree trunks, and produces 6 to 12 ivory-colored eggs per clutch.^{[citation needed]}