Sarkidiornis sylvicola
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The comb duck or American comb duck (Sarkidiornis sylvicola), is an unusual duck found in tropical wetlands in continental South America south to the Paraguay River region in eastern Paraguay, southeastern Brazil and extreme northeastern Argentina, and as a vagrant on Trinidad.
Most taxonomic authorities split this species and the knob-billed duck from each other. The comb duck is generally smaller in size when compared to the knob-billed duck, and flanks are darker (black in males, medium grey in females).
Uncertainty surrounds the correct systematic placement of this species. Initially, it was placed in the dabbling duck subfamily Anatinae. Later, it was assigned to the "perching ducks", a paraphyletic assemblage of waterfowl most of which are intermediate between dabbling ducks and shelducks. As the "perching ducks" were split up, the comb duck was moved to the Tadorninae or shelduck subfamily.
Analysis of mtDNA sequences of the cytochrome b and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genes, however, suggests that it is a quite basal member of the Anatidae, vindicating the earliest placement, but its closest living relatives cannot be resolved to satisfaction without further... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Comb Duck sighting in Guayaquil on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 144th most-seen of the 167 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Comb Duck in Guayaquil on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Comb Duck sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Comb Duck sightings, Guayaquil has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Lima (Peru, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Comb Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Guayaquil (7 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
