Hottentot teal

Introduction: Hottentot teals (Anas hottentota) are found in a permanent and semi-permanent shallow, freshwater wetlands, fringed with bulrushes, reeds, sedges and other tall vegetation and floating plants. Another habitat is sewage ponds.

Distribution: Linyati Swamps/Chobe River region. Lake Liambeze in the Caprivi, Kwando River, Tsumkwe, Etosha National Park and northern Namib Desert coastal areas. They are a wet season visitor to the Okavango Delta.

Diet: Pondweed, aquatic insects and small frogs.

Description: The smallest duck in Namibia! Different plumages for male and female. A blue-grey bill and feet.

Breeding: Females build a nest of a deep bowl lined with leaves and other plant material from the surrounding vegetation. Between 5 and 12 eggs are laid in winter and spring on the Skeleton Coast. Pairs do not stay together after the incubation period of 25 to 27 days.

Size: 33 to 36cm.

Weight: 250g.