Sarkidiornis melanotos
The Knob-billed Duck, or African Comb Duck, is one of the larger waterfowl species in South Africa; at over 2.5kg in weight with a wingspan of 1.5m the male is considerably bigger than the female, though the large knob on its bill is his most conspicuous feature.
In South Africa, Knob-billed Ducks are found mainly in North West, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, marginally into the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal, with a handful of vagrants in other provinces. Furthermore they’re widely distributed over all of sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, India and South-east Asia. Within this range they roam widely, covering distances of over 3,500km, following the rains to recently inundated floodplains, marshes, pans, and more permanent waterbodies surrounded by woodland and savanna, at times disappearing almost completely from parts where they were still abundant just a few weeks earlier. Knob-billed Ducks are omnivores, feeding on seeds, small fruit, and a variety of aquatic animals and plants.
In the late-summer breeding season, Knob-billed Ducks are usually encountered in pairs or family groups consisting of a mature, territorial male, one or more mature females, and their ducklings, but outside of the breeding season they’re highly gregarious, coming together in flocks numbering from a few dozen into the thousands. They breed in holes in trees or large, abandoned nests, such as those of the hamerkop, always quite close to water and often using the same nest year-after-year. Clutches of 6-11 eggs are incubated by the female only for about 4 weeks, and shortly after hatching the ducklings have to jump out of their tree nest to follow their mother to water. The female is also solely responsible for caring for the ducklings, which become independent at around ten weeks old.
The IUCN considers the Knob-billed Duck to be of least concern, despite noting that its populations are in decline.
DeWetsWild 
Lazy fathers… but then,if you have to lug a big knob around all day you’d be worn out too!😂😂
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Seems absent fathers is a growing challenge not only in the human experience…
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Wisdom at it’s best! 👍😉
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They are attractive ducks. The knobbed bill of the males is a strange embellishment, but it does not seem to be an impediment to foraging etc.
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They wear it quite proudly!
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They do.
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Mooi foto’s en interessant inligting … ek het nooit besef hulle is so groot nie.
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Dankie Tina!
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I thought you had disappeared and yet you arrive with a flourish of delightful photographs of the Knob-billed Duck! A marvellous look at these unusual creatures!
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Glad you enjoyed this post so, Anne. Luckily I had a few posts scheduled while I suffered through a period of technical challenges.
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Vreemd, maar baie interessant. Het nooit eintlik gaan visvang om in aanraking te kom met die eend nie. Paar mooi duidelike fotos. Dankie Vir die mooi stuk blog.
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Baie dankie vir die gawe kommentaar, Ineke! Hierdie eende is nogal skaam vir vissermanne.
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That’s certainly unusual! Hopefully it doesn’t make him cross-eyed trying to see how it looks on him. 🙂 There’s duck at the Preserve that’s light-colored with a light bunch of feathers/? on top of its head. I’ll have to figure out what it is, but it’s also very unusual!
janet
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Ducks are a curious family – some of them are real show-offs and others are so dull as to be easily overlooked.
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That is a weird-looking duck. It is the first time, I see it. 🙂
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I’m so glad we could introduce you to the Knob-billed Duck then, H.J!
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I wondered the same as Beth. Does the bill appear only at mating season?
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The male carries the knob throughout the year, Lois, though it is more pronounced in breeding season.
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Thanks, Dries!
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Am I to understand that there are two different bills here? Is that associated with male and female? That is an unusual difference. Most birds differ by color, with the brighter bird being the male.
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Indeed the mature male carries the enlarged knob on the bill, Beth, and it becomes even more pronounced in breeding time.
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