Colours of Wildlife: African Pygmy Goose
Created | Updated Sep 1, 2019
African Pygmy Goose
Willem is a wildlife artist based in South Africa. He says "My aim is simply to express the beauty and wonder that is in Nature, and to heighten people's appreciation of plants, animals and the wilderness. Not everything I paint is African! Though I've never been there, I'm also fascinated by Asia and I've done paintings of Asian rhinos and birds as well. I may in future do some of European, Australian and American species too. I'm fascinated by wild things from all over the world! I mainly paint in watercolours. . . but actually many media including 'digital' paintings with the computer!"
Two of South Africa's sweetest little birdies for today! These are African Pygmy Geese, Nettapus auritus. They're called geese for their short, stubby, goose-like bills. But they're not actually geese, but close relatives of the dabbling ducks, in particular the beautiful Mandarin Duck of Asia and the Wood Duck of North America. Two other pygmy goose species are found in Southeast Asia and Australia. They are the smallest members of the duck and goose family, measuring 30-33 cm/12"-13" in total length, and weighing about 280 grams/100 oz. In my painting, the male is on the right. The female has slightly drabber head coloration, but is still very pretty, both having metallic-green backs and bright orange-rufous bellies. Seen well, they can't be mistaken for anything else. These little ducks occur over all of sub-Saharan Africa where there are suitable expanses of water.
I depict my little geese here swimming amidst Water Lilies, Nymphaea species. These lilies are common floating plants in still waters here in Africa. The pretty little geese complement the beautiful, delicate flowers. They actually feed on the flowers, pods and seeds of water lilies. They also like any other kind of aquatic vegetation. They are mostly vegetarians, feeding both on plants that drift on the surface, as well as diving for submerged vegetation. They will eat small fish and aquatic invertebrates as well. Small, quiet and unobtrusive, they hide themselves very well between the water plants. When they suspect danger, they will dive, and come up beneath a lily pad, not fully emerging until they're sure it's safe. They're seen in pairs or small groups most of the time. But in some places at some times they occur in massive numbers, such as at the Okavango Swamps of Botswana. These congregations form when the water in other places have dried up, or when the ducks moult their wing feathers and are temporarily flightless, so that they seek safety in numbers.
When they have all their feathers, pygmy geese are strong fliers. They have proportionally large tails, that help them manoeuver in flight. They are also among the ducks that are able to perch, sometimes sitting on tree twigs and branches overhanging the water. They very rarely walk on dry land, though. They even breed in trees, again like the Mandarin and wood ducks. They use natural holes, or take over holes made by woodpeckers or barbets. They may use holes in cliffs, riverbanks or termite hills instead, and have even been recorded using the huge stick nest of Hamerkops. The breeding season is in the spring and summer, the time of rains. The male courts the female by bobbing his head, showing off his striking colours, and pursuing her in flight. Both sexes search for a nesting site. When inspecting promising tree holes, they are able to cling to the trunk like woodpeckers! Once having found a good cavity, the female lays six to twelve eggs in it. The tiny ducklings are open-eyed and covered in down when they hatch. The female exits the nest and calls to them; they then leave the nest and follow her to the nearest water. They are very agile and able to climb down from high up in a tree. In the related wood and mandarin ducks, the ducklings often jump down to the ground from high up, as seen in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkBSkFyUyv0
They suffer no harm on landing even after falling from a great height. I haven't seen anything similar for our pygmy geese; most of our trees are not very tall, and rather gnarly, so that climbing down would be fairly easy for these nimble ducklings. Once on water, they stay with their mother and rapidly learn to find food for themselves. They fledge at the age of about two months.
Pygmy geese are rare birds in South Africa. They used to be much more widespread, but have suffered from the draining of wetlands, from the clearing of riverine forest, and most of all from humans introducing a fish, the red-breasted bream, into many bodies of water. These fish feed on the same waterplants the ducks like, totally denuding the aquatic vegetation in many areas. Consequently, pygmy geese have vanished from many regions, especially the southernmost parts of South Africa. Currently it is rare in this country, and many of them are only here in the dry season, moving to more tropical climes to breed in the wet season. One place in South Africa where they are common is the Pongolo River floodplain. Their main stronghold in Southern Africa is the Okavango Swamps, where they are indeed one of the most common species. These charming ducks are very dependent on us humans properly protecting and managing these wild wetlands.
