Yellow-billed Duck

Yellow-billed Duck

Anas undulata

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at iSimangaliso Wetland Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

400 Verified sightings at iSimangaliso Wetland Park From 2019 to 2026
4,031 In all 25 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Yellow-billed Duck

The yellow-billed duck (Anas undulata) is a 51–58 cm long dabbling duck which is an abundant resident breeder in southern and eastern Africa. This duck is not migratory, but wanders in the dry season to find suitable waters. It is highly gregarious outside the breeding season and forms large flocks.

These are mallard-sized mainly grey ducks with a darker head and bright yellow bill. The wings are whitish below, and from above show a white-bordered green speculum. Sexes are similar, and juveniles are slightly duller than adults. The north-eastern race is darker and has a brighter bill and blue speculum.

It is a bird of freshwater habitats in fairly open country and feeds by dabbling for plant food mainly in the evening or at night. It nests on the ground in dense vegetation near water. Rarely, it is found in suburban areas, in close proximity to golf courses, parks and lakes or dams. The clutch numbers between six and twelve eggs.

The male has a teal-like whistle, whereas the female has a mallard-like quack. There are two subspecies of the yellow-billed duck: A. undulata rueppelli (northern yellow-billed duck) and A. undulata undulata (southern yellow-billed duck... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Flight call0:07

Uganda · 2025

© Bernard BOUSQUET · XC1053126 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:11

South Africa · 2017

© Peter Boesman · XC392280 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call1:05

South Africa · 2021

© Tony Archer · XC669985 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Bale Mountains National Park 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
~80%
2 Aberdare National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~40%
3 Lake Nakuru National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~30%
4 Golden Gate Highlands National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
5 West Coast National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
6 Garden Route National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
7 De Hoop Nature Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
8 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
9 Addo Elephant National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
10 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
11 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
12 Lake Mburo National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
~10%
13 Akagera National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~10%
14 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
~10%
15 Nairobi National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
16 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%
17 Ngorongoro Conservation Area 🇹🇿 Tanzania
<5%
18 Kibale National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
19 Amboseli National Park 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
20 Kafue National Park 🇿🇲 Zambia
<5%
21 Nyungwe National Park 🇷🇼 Rwanda
<5%
22 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
<5%
23 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
<5%
24 Queen Elizabeth National Park 🇺🇬 Uganda
<5%
25 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cape Town 🇿🇦 South Africa
~40%
2 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
3 Kampala 🇺🇬 Uganda
~20%
4 Kigali 🇷🇼 Rwanda
~20%
5 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
6 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
7 Maputo 🇲🇿 Mozambique
<5%
8 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Disney's Animal Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 SeaWorld Orlando 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Dresden Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
4 Paris Zoological Park 🇫🇷 France In captivity
5 Zoo Pilsen 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
6 Aquarium du palais de la Porte Dorée 🇫🇷 France In captivity
7 Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
8 Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
9 Centro Cicogne e Anatidi 🇮🇹 Italy In captivity
10 Alipore Zoological Gardens 🇮🇳 India In captivity
11 Cologne Zoological Garden 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
12 Hanover Zoo 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
13 Rosamond Gifford Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 Valencia Bioparc 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
15 Monkeyland 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
16 Santillana Zoo 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
17 World of Birds Wildlife Sanctuary and Monkey Park 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
18 Bioparc Fuengirola 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity
19 Birds of Eden 🇿🇦 South Africa In captivity
20 Cologne Zoo Aquarium 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
21 Snakeroom Serpentarium 🇪🇸 Spain In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Yellow-billed Duck in iSimangaliso Wetland Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-billed Duck sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 400 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 78th most-seen of the 351 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Yellow-billed Duck in iSimangaliso Wetland Park?

June

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-billed Duck in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against about 10% in October and December–February, the lowest months. That is one of iSimangaliso Wetland Park's driest months, with about 35 mm of rain against 130 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Yellow-billed Duck?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-billed Duck sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where does the Yellow-billed Duck sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Yellow-billed Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (400 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.

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