The bronze-winged duck (''Speculanas specularis'') also known as the spectacled duck, is a

dabbling duck The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae (swans, geese and ducks). Its surviving members are the dabbling ducks, which feed mainly at the surface rather than by diving. The other members of the Anatinae are the extinct moa-nalo, a y ...

and the sole member of its

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Speculanas''. It is often placed in ''

Anas ''Anas'' is a genus of dabbling ducks. It includes the pintails, most teals, and the mallard and its close relatives. It formerly included additional species but following the publication of a molecular phylogenetic study in 2009 the genus was s ...

'' with most other dabbling ducks, but its closest relative is either the

crested duck The crested duck or South American crested duck (''Lophonetta specularioides'') is a species of duck native to South America, belonging to the monotypic genus ''Lophonetta''. It is sometimes included in ''Anas'', but it belongs to a South Americ ...

or the Brazilian duck, which likewise form

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genera. Together they belong to a

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n lineage which diverged early from the other dabbling ducks and may include the steamer ducks. Named after the "bronze" speculum this species is also known as "pato perro" or "dog-duck" after the harsh barking call of the female. The bronze-winged duck lives among forested rivers and fast-flowing streams on the lower slopes of the South American

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, in central and southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and adjacent parts of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The sexes are alike. As noted by Johnsgard (2010): "Most observers agree that heavily forested rivers that are relatively swift-flowing are the preferred habitat of this species, although they also occur on slow-moving rivers and on pools or ponds of the adjoining forest areas. They are said to consume both vegetable and animal materials, and have been observed eating small snails that abound on stony shingle beaches. Stomach remains from two birds that were examined contained the seeds of water crowfoot (Batrachium), water milfoil (Myriophyllum), and a bulrush, leaves of water crowfoot, foliage and seeds of a pondweed, and caddis fly larvae as well as a few other aquatic insect remains (Phillips, 1922–26). In captivity at least the birds seem to spend a good deal of time on land and have not been observed diving for food."

References

bronze-winged duck bronze-winged duck Birds of Patagonia Birds of Tierra del Fuego bronze-winged duck bronze-winged duck {{duck-stub