The Maccoa duck is a stiff-tailed diving duck found across Eastern and Southern Africa.
Region
Eastern and Southern Africa
Typical Environment
Found from Ethiopia and Kenya south through Tanzania to Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. It favors shallow, nutrient-rich freshwater lakes, pans, dams, and sewage ponds with ample emergent vegetation such as reeds and bulrushes. The species also uses brackish or alkaline lakes and artificial waterbodies when conditions are suitable. It breeds in dense stands of Typha and Phragmites, often close to open water. Local movements follow seasonal rains and changing water levels.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 3000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
The Maccoa duck is a stiff-tailed diving duck; its tail often sticks up like a spike and helps with maneuvering underwater. Breeding males show a striking sky-blue bill with a glossy black head and rich chestnut body. Their legs are set far back on the body, making them excellent divers but clumsy on land. Populations are sensitive to wetland degradation, eutrophication, and entanglement in fishing gear.
Male (left) and female (right) Maccoa ducks.
The blue-billed duck (Oxyura australis)
The white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala)
Mosquito larva. A member of the Diptera order.
Temperament
generally shy and retiring, forming loose groups
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Often seen in small groups or loose flocks on open water, sometimes mixing with other diving ducks. Nests are built among dense emergent vegetation over water, with a floating or semi-floating platform concealed by reeds. Breeding is timed with rising water levels and may be opportunistic after rains. Courtship includes head-bobbing and display dives by males.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Usually quiet; females give harsh quacks and grating calls when alarmed. Males produce soft whistles, clicks, or grunts during courtship displays. Vocalizations are most frequent around breeding territories.
Plumage
Breeding male with glossy black head and neck, rich chestnut body, and dark, stiff tail often held upright; non-breeding males and females are brown and mottled. The body appears compact with a low profile on the water and a stiff, wedge-like tail.
Diet
Feeds primarily by diving, taking aquatic invertebrates such as insect larvae, small crustaceans, and mollusks. It also consumes seeds, tubers, and other plant material, especially when invertebrates are scarce. The broad bill helps sieve small prey and plant fragments from the water column and lakebed. Foraging bouts often include repeated short dives interspersed with brief surface rests.
Preferred Environment
Typically forages in open patches near emergent vegetation on lakes, reservoirs, sewage ponds, and seasonal pans. It favors eutrophic waters with abundant submerged plants and invertebrate life. Birds may shift to artificial waterbodies when natural wetlands dry.
