Cotton Pygmy Goose

Breeding male has a white head, neck, and underparts, with a distinct black collar, dark greenish-black back, and wings with a prominent white patch visible in flight. The bill is short and stubby with a black tip. Non-breeding male and female are duller, lacking the stark black collar, with grayish-brown mottling on the head and neck.

Extremely small size, short stubby bill, white head with dark speckling (in females/eclipse males) or stark white with a black collar (breeding males), and dark greenish upperparts.

Length: 30-37 cm, Wingspan: 56-66 cm, Weight: 150-430 g

Includes high-pitched cackling, whistling notes, and sharp quacks given in flight or when disturbed.

Primarily vegetarian, feeding on seeds, aquatic plant matter, water lilies, and occasionally small insects and crustaceans.

Freshwater wetlands, lakes, ponds, sluggish rivers, and flooded paddy fields with abundant aquatic vegetation.

Mostly sedentary (resident), but undergoes local nomadic movements driven by monsoon rains and drying wetlands.

Nests in tree cavities, hollow branches, or sometimes old nests of other birds near water. Clutch size typically ranges from 6 to 12 eggs, incubated solely by the female.

Green Pygmy Goose (Nettapus pulchellus), which is distinguished by a green face and neck patch in males and different facial patterns in females.

Acts as a seed disperser and helps control aquatic insect and plant populations within wetland ecosystems.

Least Concern, with a widespread distribution and stable overall population trend.

Look for them in well-vegetated tropical wetlands, lakes, and flooded agricultural fields. Scan floating vegetation and nearby tree branches where they frequently roost.

Despite being called a 'goose', they are actually perching ducks closely related to dabbling ducks and possess the unusual habit of nesting in tree hollows high above the ground.