Sarkidiornis sylvicola
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
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 Lima on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 145th most-seen of the 171 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, 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 Lima 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.
Among the best
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Comb Duck sightings, Lima ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Guayaquil (Ecuador, under 5%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Comb Duck that you can see in Lima (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Cinnamon Teal (about 30%), White-cheeked Pintail (about 20%) and Mallard (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Comb Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Lima (23 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.
