Tachyeres patachonicus
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The flying steamer duck (Tachyeres patachonicus), also known as the flying steamer-duck or flying steamerduck, is a species of South American duck in the family Anatidae. The flying steamer duck is one of four steamer ducks, in the genus Tachyeres, which also includes the Fuegian steamer duck (Tachyeres pteneres), the Chubut steamer duck (Tachyeres leucocephalus), and the Falkland steamer duck (Tachyeres brachypterus). The steamer ducks are named for their method of mobility, as the manner in which they use wings and feet to paddle across the water resembles an old-time steam boat. The steamer ducks are members of the Southern Hemisphere shelducks clade Tadorninae. The three flightless species are monophyletic, with the flying steamer ducks splitting off phylogenetically. It is the only steamer duck which can fly, and the only one to occur on inland fresh waters. However, some individual male flying steamer ducks within the species are incapable of flight due to excessive size and wing loadings.
Though they are the smallest of the four Tachyeres species, flying steamer ducks share similar plumage traits with other steamer ducks including... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tierra del Fuego National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 3 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 4 | Península Valdés | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 5 | Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Green Zoo Wuppertal | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Philadelphia Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Aquazoo Friesland | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Flying Steamer-Duck sighting in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, based on 353 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 31st most-seen of the 106 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.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Flying Steamer-Duck in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, against about 20% in April, June and October–February, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Flying Steamer-Duck sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Flying Steamer-Duck sightings, Torres del Paine National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Tierra del Fuego National Park (Argentina, about 40%) and Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina, about 30%).
Same family: Anatidae
The closest relatives of the Flying Steamer-Duck that you can see in Torres del Paine National Park (family Anatidae, Ducks, Geese, and Swans) are Upland Goose (about 80%), Yellow-billed Pintail (about 30%) and Crested Duck (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Flying Steamer-Duck is recorded against all the birds logged in Torres del Paine National Park (353 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.
