Birds Guide

Tadorninae
Comb Duck
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Class: Aves   Order: Anseriformes   Family: Anatidae   Subfamily: Tadorninae
Genera
Sarkidiornis Pachyanas (extinct) Tadorna Malacorhynchus Centrornis (extinct) Cyanochen Chloephaga Neochen Alopochen Hymenolaimus Merganetta Tachyeres

The Tadorninae is a subfamily of the Anatidae, the biological family that includes the ducks and most duck-like waterfowl such as the (geese and swans).

This subfamily includes the shelducks, sheldgeese and steamer-ducks. This group of larger, often semi-terrestrial waterfowl can be seen as intermediate between geese (Anserinae) and ducks.

This group is largely tropical or Southern Hemisphere in distribution, with only two species, the common Shelduck and the Ruddy Shelduck breeding in northern temperate regions, though the Crested Shelduck (presumed extinct) was also a northern species.

Most of these species have a distinctive plumage, but there is no pattern as to whether the sexes are alike, even within a single genus.

There are 10 extant genera and 23 living species (one is probably extinct):

• Sarkidiornis (South America, Africa, India)
  • Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos

• Pachyanas (Chatham Islands, extinct)
  • Chatham Island Duck Pachyanas chathamica
• Tadorna, shelducks (Europe, Africa, Australasia, 7 species)
  • Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
    Cape Shelduck Tadorna cana
    Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides
    Paradise Shelduck Tadorna variegata
    Crested Shelduck Tadorna cristata
    Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
    Radjah Shelduck Tadorna radjah
• Malacorhynchus (Australia, 1 living species, 1 extinct)
  • Pink-eared Duck Malacorhynchus membranaceus
    Scarlett's Duck Malacorhynchus scarletti
• Centrornis (Madagascar, extinct)
  • Madagascar Sheldgoose Centrornis majori
• Alopochen (Africa, 1 living species, 2-3 extinct)
  • Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus
    Réunion Shelduck Alopochen kervazoi
    Mauritius Shelduck Alopochen mauritianus
    Madagascar Shelduck Alopochen sirabensis (may be the same as A. mauritianus)
• Neochen (South America)
  • Orinoco Goose Neochen jubata
• Chloephaga, sheldgeese (South America, 5 species)
  • Andean Goose Chloephaga melanoptera
    Magellan Goose Chloephaga picta
    Kelp Goose Chloephaga hybrida
    Ashy-headed Goose Chloephaga poliocephala
    Ruddy-headed Goose Chloephaga rubidiceps
• Cyanochen (Ethiopia)
  • Blue-winged Goose Cyanochen cyanopterus
• Hymenolaimus (New Zealand)
  • Blue Duck Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos
• Merganetta (Andes Mts., South America)
  • Torrent Duck Merganetta armata
• Tachyeres, steamer ducks (South America, 4 species).
  • Flying Steamer Duck Tachyeres patachonicus
    Magellanic Flightless Steamer Duck Tachyeres pteneres
    White-headed Flightless Steamer Duck Tachyeres leucocephalus
    Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck Tachyeres brachypterus