Eastern Spot-billed Duck

Eastern Spot-billed Duck

Anas zonorhyncha

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

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

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

95 Verified sightings at Nikko National Park From 2019 to 2026
187 In all 2 parks
November Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Eastern Spot-billed Duck

The eastern spot-billed duck or Chinese spot-billed duck (Anas zonorhyncha) is a species of dabbling duck that breeds in East and Southeast Asia. This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the Indian spot-billed duck and both were referred to as the spot-billed duck (A. poecilorhyncha). The name is derived from the yellow spot on the bill.

The eastern spot-billed duck was described by the English biologist Robert Swinhoe in 1866 under its current binomial name Anas zonorhyncha. The name of the genus Anas is the Latin word for a duck. The specific epithet zonorhyncha is derived from the classical Greek words zōnē meaning "band" or "girdle" and rhunkhos meaning "bill".

Historically, the eastern spot-billed duck was usually considered as a subspecies of the Indian spot-billed duck (A. poecilorhyncha). The American ornithologist Bradley Livezey in a morphological study of the dabbling ducks published in 1991 proposed that the eastern spot-billed duck should be promoted to species status. Subsequently, fieldwork conducted at Hong Kong in southern China found that although both the eastern spot-billed duck and the Indian spot-billed duck (subspecies A. poecilorhyncha... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:36

China · 2024

© 小菜鸟 · XC920581 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call1:21

China · 2019

© Bo Shunqi 薄顺奇 · XC841268 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call1:25

Mongolia · 2017

© Frank Lambert · XC414280 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nikko National Park 🇯🇵 Japan
~20%
2 Kaziranga National Park 🇮🇳 India
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Sendai 🇯🇵 Japan
~80%
2 Daejeon 🇰🇷 South Korea
~80%
3 Tokyo 🇯🇵 Japan
~70%
4 Nagoya 🇯🇵 Japan
~70%
5 Osaka 🇯🇵 Japan
~60%
6 Ningbo 🇨🇳 China
~60%
7 Tianjin 🇨🇳 China
~60%
8 Seoul 🇰🇷 South Korea
~50%
9 Hangzhou 🇨🇳 China
~50%
10 Quanzhou 🇨🇳 China
~50%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 SeaWorld San Antonio 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Chimelong Safari Park 🇨🇳 China In captivity
3 无锡动物园 🇨🇳 China In captivity
4 Nikolaev Zoo 🇺🇦 Ukraine In captivity
5 Vogelpark Marlow 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
6 杭州动物园 🇨🇳 China In captivity
7 Asahiyama Zoo 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
8 Green World Ecological Farm 🇹🇼 Taiwan In captivity
9 Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden) 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
10 Shinagawa Aquarium 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
11 Cologne Zoo Aquarium 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
12 Hangzhou Zoo 🇨🇳 China In captivity
13 Yokohama Omoshiro Aquarium 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an Eastern Spot-billed Duck in Nikko National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Spot-billed Duck sighting in Nikko National Park on a given day, based on 95 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 33rd most-seen of the 102 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 an Eastern Spot-billed Duck in Nikko National Park?

May, July and November–December

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Spot-billed Duck in Nikko National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March–April and August, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an Eastern Spot-billed Duck?

Between 6 and 9 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern 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.

Is Nikko National Park the best place to see an Eastern Spot-billed Duck?

Yes

Of the 2 parks where we can rate Eastern Spot-billed Duck sightings, Nikko National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Kaziranga National Park (India, about 10%).

Which relatives of the Eastern Spot-billed Duck live in Nikko National Park?

Same genus: Anas

The closest relatives of the Eastern Spot-billed Duck that you can see in Nikko National Park (genus Anas, Mallards, Pintails, and Allies) are Mallard (about 50%) and Eurasian Teal (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Eastern Spot-billed Duck sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Eastern Spot-billed Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Nikko National Park (95 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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