Oxyura ferruginea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The Andean duck (Oxyura ferruginea) is a bird species native to the Andean Mountains of South America, one of the stiff-tailed ducks. It was considered a subspecies of the ruddy duck. In fact, some taxonomic authorities still consider it conspecific, including the American Ornithological Society.
These are small, compact ducks with stout, scoop-shaped bills, and long, stiff tails they often hold cocked upward. They have slightly peaked heads and fairly short, thick necks. In summer, they have rich chestnut bodies with bright blue bills. In winter, they are dull gray-brown above and paler below with dull gray bills. Females and first-year males are brownish, somewhat like winter males but with a blurry stripe across the pale cheek patch. It is separable from the ruddy duck by its all-black face and larger size.
Their breeding habitat is marshy lakes and ponds. They nest in dense marsh vegetation near water. The female builds the nest out of grass, locating it in tall vegetation to hide it from predators. A typical brood contains 5 to 15 ducklings.
These birds dive and swim underwater. They mainly eat seeds and roots of aquatic plants, aquatic... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauca National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 2 | Los Nevados National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 4 | Chingaza National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cochabamba | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 2 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | La Paz | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | |
| 4 | Lima | 🇵🇪 Peru |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sedgwick County Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Chester Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | San Francisco Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Queens Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Ruddy Duck sighting in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, based on 266 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 44th most-seen of the 106 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report an Andean Ruddy Duck in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, the lowest month.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Andean Ruddy 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.
3rd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Andean Ruddy Duck sightings, Torres del Paine National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Lauca National Park (Chile, about 40%) and Los Nevados National Natural Park (Colombia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Andean Ruddy Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Torres del Paine National Park (266 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.
