What is the smallest duck in the world?
Question from Thomas Patterson
- Thread starter Eric Patterson
- Start date
Thomas,
I'm not sure about the smallest duck but I can tell you this; If I'm fishing with my brother-in-law, the smallest fish in the world is the one I caught! ( at least according to him)
I'm not sure about the smallest duck but I can tell you this; If I'm fishing with my brother-in-law, the smallest fish in the world is the one I caught! ( at least according to him)
Dave
Cool. I think a greenwing teal is the smallest.
Thomas
Cool. I think a greenwing teal is the smallest.
Thomas
Thomas,
I think you may be right about the greenwing teal. That would be the smallest for the ducks that are common in my area.
Hey, I just had a thought, maybe you could check this out and do a school report on this question for extra credit?
I think you may be right about the greenwing teal. That would be the smallest for the ducks that are common in my area.
Hey, I just had a thought, maybe you could check this out and do a school report on this question for extra credit?
Dear Thomas,
I thought that that was such a good question, I wanted to know too ---
So I did a little research. I don't know the smallest duck in the world, but the smallest duck in North America is the bufflehead.
Here is an article that you may find of interest:
http://www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/News%20at%20the%20Rocky%20Mountain%20Arsenal%20National%20Wildlife%20Refuge_f(1)/WildNewsArchive/WildNewsoct-dec.2005.pdf
I liked very much the pictures of you, your dad, your brother and your dog in the flooded timber. It looked like you had a blast with all. I wish my Dad took me duck hunting when I was your age. You're a lucky boy.
Please post more pictures of your hunts and please ask more excellent questions.
Andrew
I thought that that was such a good question, I wanted to know too ---
So I did a little research. I don't know the smallest duck in the world, but the smallest duck in North America is the bufflehead.
Here is an article that you may find of interest:
http://www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/News%20at%20the%20Rocky%20Mountain%20Arsenal%20National%20Wildlife%20Refuge_f(1)/WildNewsArchive/WildNewsoct-dec.2005.pdf
I liked very much the pictures of you, your dad, your brother and your dog in the flooded timber. It looked like you had a blast with all. I wish my Dad took me duck hunting when I was your age. You're a lucky boy.
Please post more pictures of your hunts and please ask more excellent questions.
Andrew
Andrew, Well sure,,,,,,,,,,,,, if your going to count divers! hehe (stir, stir)
guess it depends on who you want to get riled up. When my grandmother tells me that the bufflehead is the smallest duck in the US, I of course say something obnoxious along the lines of ....nuh-uh the greenwing teal is. Then starts a debate that brings out bird books of various types and arguments and ladidadida. I tend to lean towards bufflehead being smallest though...just don't ever let my gramma know!
Dave,
This past season, a group of GW Teal came zooming right past the boat within 3 yards, I popped one and missed. Very exciting nonetheless. I see Morton get out of his boat and walked over to where I was. I'm thinking, what the heck is Morton doing out of his boat, this is prime shooting time. I already gave him the pie, he knows there is no more, why would he come over here?
He tells me that I got the duck, it expired in the air and fell in the water about 100 yards away. I was incredibly excited. I brought a newbie that day and on the trip out to retrieve the duck I was telling him all about the GWT, the best eating, best flying bird in all of the world. You'd think I was an absolute GWT expert.
I leaned over the boat and picked up a hen hoodie. Boy was I embarrassed. So, Thomas, I too like the GWT and they taste a lot better than hoodies. Moreover, for a guy who doesn't shoot hens, I was mortified.
This past season, a group of GW Teal came zooming right past the boat within 3 yards, I popped one and missed. Very exciting nonetheless. I see Morton get out of his boat and walked over to where I was. I'm thinking, what the heck is Morton doing out of his boat, this is prime shooting time. I already gave him the pie, he knows there is no more, why would he come over here?
He tells me that I got the duck, it expired in the air and fell in the water about 100 yards away. I was incredibly excited. I brought a newbie that day and on the trip out to retrieve the duck I was telling him all about the GWT, the best eating, best flying bird in all of the world. You'd think I was an absolute GWT expert.
I leaned over the boat and picked up a hen hoodie. Boy was I embarrassed. So, Thomas, I too like the GWT and they taste a lot better than hoodies. Moreover, for a guy who doesn't shoot hens, I was mortified.
Steve Sutton
Well-known member
My younger brother had his first experience with them while sitting in a little hole in the mangroves in the Indian River. Its hard to remember exactly how old he was then but I was still in College so he had to be still in Jr. High...
Anyway we were sitting on our buckets tucked into the trees waiting for the birds to fly. Over the years the hole normally produced Wigeon, Mottled Ducks and Pintails and until that time I could not remember ever having seen a Greenwing there...
It was David's third or fourth hunt and I had told him that we'd have plenty of warning on any approaching birds because the normal ducks would be up high, circle repeatedly and then float into the decoys if they came. Sure enough a HUGE flock of Greenwings, (no fewer than 30), ripped over the top of the mangroves coming in out of the sun, broke over the hole, dropped almost to the water, regrouped and were gone almost as soon as they appeared...accompanied by that incredible "shredding canvas" roar of the "fast movers" of the duck clan....
Neither of us made it off our seat while the birds were in sight but after they were gone I sttod, walked out into the pond and turned to look in the direction they had gone. David frantically hissed at me to "GET BACK IN BLIND..NOW!!!".....
I replied "David, they're gone"....to which he responded...."yeah but the Earth's round and they'll be back in a minute".....and you know what? They did come back, and David got to say "SEE!!!"...We got just about as far off our butts on their second "orbit" as we did the first and it was a couple of more season before David got to shoot his first Greenwings.....
Its tough not to get excited about a duck thats that pretty, that fast and that good to eat even if they are "that small"...
Steve
Anyway we were sitting on our buckets tucked into the trees waiting for the birds to fly. Over the years the hole normally produced Wigeon, Mottled Ducks and Pintails and until that time I could not remember ever having seen a Greenwing there...
It was David's third or fourth hunt and I had told him that we'd have plenty of warning on any approaching birds because the normal ducks would be up high, circle repeatedly and then float into the decoys if they came. Sure enough a HUGE flock of Greenwings, (no fewer than 30), ripped over the top of the mangroves coming in out of the sun, broke over the hole, dropped almost to the water, regrouped and were gone almost as soon as they appeared...accompanied by that incredible "shredding canvas" roar of the "fast movers" of the duck clan....
Neither of us made it off our seat while the birds were in sight but after they were gone I sttod, walked out into the pond and turned to look in the direction they had gone. David frantically hissed at me to "GET BACK IN BLIND..NOW!!!".....
I replied "David, they're gone"....to which he responded...."yeah but the Earth's round and they'll be back in a minute".....and you know what? They did come back, and David got to say "SEE!!!"...We got just about as far off our butts on their second "orbit" as we did the first and it was a couple of more season before David got to shoot his first Greenwings.....
Its tough not to get excited about a duck thats that pretty, that fast and that good to eat even if they are "that small"...
Steve
Blake Wilson
Active member
timj has been doing his homework. but i will offer that a cotton teal or african pygmy goose might take the prize for the smallest in the world.ive seen these neat little birds in live collections and honestly cant say that they are smaller than a hen gw though.as far as north american goes, a gw teal has my vote for smallest for sure.
http://nagpurbirds.org/thumbnails.php?album=27
http://nagpurbirds.org/thumbnails.php?album=27
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Jeff Bowen
Active member
This is just a guess, but I would say a Ruddy Duck.
Lee Harker
Well-known member
I'd have to say that a Hen Hoody has to be smaller than any other waterfowl I've cleaned.
TimJ
Well-known member
Well he asked what the smallest duck is, not the smallest goose. hehehe And I forgot all about the Pygmy Geese.
I just looked in my handy reference book and it says the Cotton Pygmy Goose is the smallest of all waterfowl yet the measurements and mean weight are larger then the Hottontot Teal, confusing. It would not surprise me if one was able to find an individual adult Hottentot Teal, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Ringed Teal or even the Greenwinged Teal that was considerably smaller then the average of the smallest specie.
Tim
I just looked in my handy reference book and it says the Cotton Pygmy Goose is the smallest of all waterfowl yet the measurements and mean weight are larger then the Hottontot Teal, confusing. It would not surprise me if one was able to find an individual adult Hottentot Teal, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Ringed Teal or even the Greenwinged Teal that was considerably smaller then the average of the smallest specie.
Tim
travis bruce
Active member
Welp, I say this is a dangerous thing for a youngster to be intrested in. He ought to be concearned about biggest... the grand sport of waterfowling is now consumed by biggest, magnum, elite, supreme, etc... Millions of dollars of advertsing, shows and videos, and products support these facts. By actualy showing some intrest in something you couldnt brag about, he's endangering waterfowling as we know it in the 21st century. Please take him for a ride in a mud boat or sumthing, and clear his mind now, before he actually tries to LEARN something about the animals we should be whacking and stacking between putting stickers on our truck windows. travis (who thinks you should always shoot the biggest bird in the bunch, unless one of the pesky smaller ones are in the way, in which case they need killing so they dont pass on those puny genes...)
Scott Farris
Well-known member
Thomas, I watched your dad make a spectacular shot on a hoodie trying to blast past us. Your dad was so proud, he gave that hoodie to Mr. Smith. It would be well worth your time to get the whole story from your dad.
Best!
Scott
Best!
Scott
Jeff Bowen
Active member
A google search does state that the smallest duck in the world is a Cotton Teal as Blake mentioned earlier.
Eric,
Tell Thomas thanks for teaching us something.
Eric,
Tell Thomas thanks for teaching us something.