Anas poecilorhyncha
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Indian spot-billed duck (Anas poecilorhyncha) is a species of large dabbling duck that is a non-migratory breeding duck throughout freshwater wetlands in the Indian subcontinent. The name is derived from the red spot at the base of the bill that is found in the mainland Indian population. When in water it can be recognized from a long distance by the white tertials that form a stripe on the side, and in flight it is distinguished by the green speculum with a broad white band at the base. This species and the eastern spot-billed duck (A. zonorhyncha) were formerly considered conspecific, together called the spot-billed duck (A. poecilorhyncha).
The Indian spot-billed duck was described by the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster in 1781 under its current binomial name Anas poecilorhyncha. The name of the genus Anas is the Latin word for a duck. The specific epithet poecilorhyncha combines the classical Greek words poikilos meaning "pied" or "spotted" and rhunkhos meaning a "bill".
A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2009 that compared mitochondrial DNA sequences from ducks, geese and swans in the family Anatidae found that the Indian spot-billed duck was a sister... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Nagarhole National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Kanha National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Jim Corbett National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disney's Animal Kingdom | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | SeaWorld Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | SeaWorld San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Tallinn Zoo | 🇪🇪 Estonia | |
| 6 | Singapore Zoo | 🇸🇬 Singapore | |
| 7 | Almaty Zoo | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | |
| 8 | VigoNature | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 9 | Staten Island Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Debrecen Amusement Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Spot-billed Duck sighting in Kaziranga National Park on a given day, based on 1,465 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 323 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November to April
In those months about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Spot-billed Duck in Kaziranga National Park on a given day, against about 40% in August and September, the lowest months. Those are among Kaziranga National Park's driest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against 520 mm in June. June and July have too few records to rate.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Spot-billed Duck sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Indian Spot-billed Duck sightings, Kaziranga National Park ranks 2nd at about 70%. The best odds are in Keoladeo National Park (India, about 80%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Anas
The closest relatives of the Indian Spot-billed Duck that you can see in Kaziranga National Park (genus Anas, Mallards, Pintails, and Allies) are Eurasian Teal (about 60%), Northern Pintail (about 40%) and Mallard (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Spot-billed Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Kaziranga National Park (1,465 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.
