Researchers have found leptin – a hormone that regulates body fat storage, metabolism and appetite – in the Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). How does the Arctic tern fly more than 70,000 km in its annual roundtrip North Pole-to-South Pole migration? How does the Emperor penguin […]
Tag: Anas platyrhynchos
Dabbling Ducks
A few pairs of dabbling ducks. Dabblers do not dive to feed. Instead, they tip over at the water surface with their heads underwater and their tails in the air.
Mallard duck and bird magnetic navigation in migration
Anas platyrhynchos – Anseriformes – Anatidae – Camargue, Rhône delta, France – the Mallard duck is at the origin of many other domestic ducks species. In captivity it lives 6 times longer than the wild ones and has been domesticated before the chicken. Taking birds in flight is a real exercise and fun to practice […]
Duck Date
Last February I wrote about a pair of interesting puddle ducks I saw in Brooklyn Bridge Park. She was a mallard,Anas platyrhynchos. He was an American black duck, Anas rubripes. She would normally mate with a green-headed male mallard duck. But they appeared to be a couple. I think I saw the same pair today […]
Birds of Delevan National Wildlife Refuge
According to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex website, Delevan National Wildlife Refuge comprises 5,797 acres, including seasonal marsh, permanent ponds, and uplands. It is predominately a hunting refuge for waterfowl and pheasant. Wildlife observation takes place from the county roads, on the perimeter of the refuge. There is one notable exception to this, the […]