Species of the Month
Mottled Duck
Anas fulvigula
Family Anatidae
Description 21" (53 cm). Mottled dark brown and sandy. Similar to a female Mallard, but bill clear yellow or orange-yellow, throat plain tawny, and tail dark rather than whitish.
Habitat Coastal marshes and lagoons.
Nesting 9-13 pale greenish eggs in a down-lined nest of grass concealed in vegetation near a shore.
Range Resident in southern Florida and along Gulf Coast of Louisiana and Texas.
Voice A loud quack, like that of a Mallard.
Discussion This southern duck is a very close relative of the widespread Mallard. Until recently, no other duck of the genus Anas nested in these coastal marshes, and so the distinctive male plumage, which among these birds enables females to identify mates of their own species, was gradually lost. After thousands of years of evolutionary change, the two sexes are colored alike.
Info from enature.com
2011 Fall Symposium
Dates for the 2011 Fall Symposium have been set for August 11 and 12. Once again we will be meeting at the NOAA Estuarine Habitats and Coastal Fisheries center in Lafayette, LA. Oral presentations on recent natural resources research relevant to Louisiana will be given by university students from across the state on Thursday morning and continue through Thursday afternoon. These presentations will be 15 or 20 minutes in length, depending on the number of abstracts received. The LAPB Fall Business Meeting will be held at the conclusion of the day’s speakers.
Call for Nominations for the LAPB Publication Awards