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The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution , occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming , floating on the water surface, and, in some cases, diving in at least shallow water.
This sexual difference in size is most pronounced in active species that hunt birds, such as the Accipiter hawks, in which the size difference averages 25–50%. In a majority of species, such as generalist hunters and rodent -, reptile -, fish -, and insect -hunting specialists, the dimorphism is less, usually between a 5% to 30% size difference.
The avian family Anatidae, commonly called waterfowl, comprise the ducks, geese, and swans.The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes these 174 Anatidae species distributed among 53 genera, 32 of which have only one species.
Among them is the family Cathartidae (New World vultures) which the American Ornithological Society (AOS), the Clements taxonomy, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World place in its own order, Cathartiformes.
Although the term "bird of prey" could theoretically be taken to include all birds that actively hunt and eat other animals, [4] ornithologists typically use the narrower definition followed in this page, [5] excluding many piscivorous predators such as storks, cranes, herons, gulls, skuas, penguins, and kingfishers, as well as many primarily ...
The word duck comes from Old English dūce 'diver', a derivative of the verb *dūcan 'to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive', because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch duiken and German tauchen 'to dive'.
Accipitridae is a family of birds of prey, which includes hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures. These birds have very large powerful hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, powerful talons, and keen eyesight. White-tailed kite, Elanus leucurus (A) LC; Swallow-tailed kite, Elanoides forficatus (A) LC
Its weight (which has been reported only for winter birds) ranges from 467 to 1,240 g (16.5 to 43.7 oz). Males average larger and heavier than females. [14] Like most ducks, it is sexually dimorphic. [16] The male has a chestnut-coloured head and neck, a black breast and tail, and a pale grey body, marked with fine vermiculations.