Cotton Pygmy-Goose

Cotton Pygmy-Goose

Nettapus coromandelianus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Kanha National Park

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

1,449 Verified sightings at Kanha National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,497 In all 16 parks
May Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Cotton Pygmy-Goose

The cotton pygmy goose or cotton teal (Nettapus coromandelianus) is a small perching duck which breeds in South and Southeast Asia extending to Queensland in Australia where they are sometimes called white-quilled pygmy goose. They are among the smallest waterfowl in the world and are found in small to large waterbodies with good aquatic vegetation. They are usually seen in pairs or larger groups of pairs, roosting and nesting on trees near water. They are strong fliers and are known to disperse widely, especially in winter. Their breeding season coincides with the rains.

The cotton pygmy goose was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the ducks, swans and geese in the genus Anas and coined the binomial name Anas coromandeliana. Gmelin based his description on "La Sarcelle de Coromandel" that had been described in 1783 by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. Hand-coloured plates had been published separately. The cotton pygmy goose is now one of three species placed in the genus Nettapus... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:08

India · 2025

© Peter Boesman · XC1030695 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Call0:46

Laos · 2021

© Bram Piot · XC664895 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
2 Keoladeo National Park 🇮🇳 India
~20%
3 Sundarbans National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
4 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%
5 Wilpattu National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
6 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
<5%
7 Nagarhole National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
8 Yala National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
9 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
10 Ranthambore National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
11 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
<5%
12 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
13 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
14 Bandipur National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%
15 Chitwan National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
<5%
16 Manas National Park 🇮🇳 India
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ponnani 🇮🇳 India
~20%
2 Indore 🇮🇳 India
~20%
3 Durg 🇮🇳 India
~20%
4 Nagpur 🇮🇳 India
~10%
5 Asansol 🇮🇳 India
~10%
6 Kochi 🇮🇳 India
~10%
7 Lucknow 🇮🇳 India
~10%
8 Kozhikode 🇮🇳 India
~10%
9 Thiruvananthapuram 🇮🇳 India
~10%
10 Kolkata 🇮🇳 India
<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 Prague Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
4 Zoo Miami 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Bronx Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Fort Worth Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
7 Singapore Zoo 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
8 Wilhelma 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
9 Akron Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
10 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
11 El Paso Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
12 Riverbanks Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
13 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
14 Discovery Cove 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Rákosův pavilon 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
16 Velemlokárium 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Cotton Pygmy-Goose in Kanha National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Cotton Pygmy-Goose sighting in Kanha National Park on a given day, based on 1,449 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 55th most-seen of the 286 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 Cotton Pygmy-Goose in Kanha National Park?

March to May

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Cotton Pygmy-Goose in Kanha National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month. Those are among Kanha National Park's driest months, with about 25 mm of rain a month against 430 mm in July.

What time of day is best to see a Cotton Pygmy-Goose?

Between 3 and 6 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cotton Pygmy-Goose sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Kanha National Park the best place to see a Cotton Pygmy-Goose?

Yes

Of the 16 parks where we can rate Cotton Pygmy-Goose sightings, Kanha National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Keoladeo National Park (India, about 20%) and Sundarbans National Park (India, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Cotton Pygmy-Goose live in Kanha National Park?

Same family: Anatidae

The closest relatives of the Cotton Pygmy-Goose that you can see in Kanha National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Lesser Whistling-Duck (about 20%), Gadwall (about 10%) and Northern Pintail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Cotton Pygmy-Goose sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Cotton Pygmy-Goose is recorded against all the birds logged in Kanha National Park (1,449 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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