The Amsterdam wigeon, also known as the Amsterdam Island duck or Amsterdam duck, is an extinct species of anatid waterfowl, endemic to Île Amsterdam, the French Southern Territories. The flightless species is only known from bones and was presumably driven extinct by visiting sealers and the rats they introduced.
Region
South Indian Ocean
Typical Environment
Endemic to Île Amsterdam, a remote French island with small freshwater wetlands, seeps, and coastal fringes. It likely occupied marshy ground, ponds, and damp grasslands around volcanic plateaus. As a dabbling duck relative, it probably foraged in shallow water and saturated soils. Given the island’s limited size, its range would have been very restricted and fragmented by terrain and vegetation.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 700 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Amsterdam wigeon, also called the Amsterdam Island duck, is known only from subfossil bones recovered on Île Amsterdam in the southern Indian Ocean. Evidence indicates it was flightless or nearly so and restricted to this small volcanic island. It likely disappeared soon after human visitation due to hunting pressure by sealers and predation from introduced rats. Its story highlights the extreme vulnerability of isolated island waterfowl.
Temperament
unknown
Flight Pattern
flightless
Social Behavior
Direct observations are lacking, but like other dabbling ducks it likely nested on the ground and formed small groups around freshwater. Pair bonding and seasonal breeding are presumed, with nests concealed in vegetation. Specific courtship and brood-rearing behaviors remain unknown.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Unknown; no vocalizations were recorded. It may have produced soft whistles or quacks similar to related wigeons and small dabbling ducks.
Plumage
unknown
Diet
Inferred from related wigeons and island dabbling ducks: a mix of aquatic plants, algae, seeds, and small invertebrates such as snails, insects, and crustaceans. Flightlessness suggests primarily local foraging within wetlands and damp grasslands. Hard evidence of specific diet components is not available.
Preferred Environment
Shallow freshwater pools, marshy seeps, and saturated tussock or grassland areas near water. Likely foraged by dabbling and grazing at the water’s edge and on wet ground.
