THE knobbilled duck is a common resident found in the north and east of South Africa.
In Afrikaans the bird is known as knobbeleend.
There is no Zulu name.
Only the males have the compressed black knob but this is reduced in size when the bird is not breeding. Breeding takes place from November to March.
The ducks are usually silent, however when the male is in display, he makes weak hissing and wheezing sounds. They are able to make a threat note ‘guk – guk’.
For their habitat, they favour floodplains, pans, shallow marshes with clear water and emergent and surface vegetation.
Knobbills are highly gregarious when not breeding, and are sometimes found in flocks of separate sexes. They often perch in trees or loaf on shorelines. The males have usually three females.
Flight wingbeats appear slow, with the dark wings contrasting with their pale underparts. Seeds, grass, waterlilies, grain crops, aquaric insects and locusts make up their food source.
They lay between six and 20 glossy, yellow eggs in nests built in holes in trees near water. Incubation lasts 28 to 30 days.
Fledgings remain for nine to 10 weeks when the young jump from the nest, assisted by their mother.
