entry smap 292: Indian spot-billed ducks

the village of Khidrapur in Maharashtra was once an important center during the reign of the Shilahara dynasty many centuries ago. one of the most famous temples from that era is the Kopeshwar Temple on the banks of the Krishna River. we visited the amazing 900 year old temple with a very interesting history. The Hindu deities are both Shiva and Vishnu but the kings who built it were Jain. since this is a feathered friends community i won't say more about the temple other than it is definitely worth a visit.

the village is at a bend in the river which separates Maharashtra from Karnataka. when we were the standing on the banks of the river looking over to Karnataka we were happy to see some Indian spot-billed ducks Anas poecilorhyncha. there was a small group mostly in pairs. they are not rare in India so we recognized them immediately because of the beaks with the yellow tip and orange spot just at the base of the beak.

the curious scientific name means is from Greek, meaning literally duck spotted bill

they are quite similar to mallards and have even been found to cross breed with them in the wild. the are mainly residents of south asia but there are some that migrate north to Russia when they feed they dabble with their bottoms up but when threatened they can dive underwater.

this pair was swimming very fast which can be seen even in a still photo because their breasts are so deep in the water compared to the other shots