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Chloephaga picta leucoptera
One of the more conspicuous birds of the Falklands, very widespread. About 75cm tall, and actually belongs to the sheldgoose-shelduck family. Highly sexually dimorphic, with the male having the white and black plumage, and the female brown and grey. They can aggregate into groups, with a couple of males and several females. I also observed one of these males in a group fighting off a lone male that came close to his females. The subspecies leucoptera is found only in the Falklands.
Prefers short grassland for feeding, but will find longer grasses to nest in. I saw them all over Stanley and the surrounding areas, very common.
Very common birds in the Falklands, these particular pictures were taken in Whalebone Cove, on my way to see penguins in Gypsy Cove.
Spotted on Jan 7, 2013
Submitted on Feb 18, 2013
1 Comment
So glad to have you back, Laura! Beautiful! I love the hint of green on their wings!