The sexes are very similar in plumage and unlike most other ducks, pairs may bond for life. Both parents participate in the rearing of the young, often allowing ducklings to ride on their backs. The National Zoo exhibits South American White-faced Whistling Ducks inside the Bird House and Plumed Whistling Ducks from Australia outside in Wetlands. The shelducks are Old World Birds that are somewhat gooselike in appearance. Our Common Shelduck is a bird boldly patterned in white, chestnut, and iridescent greenish-black.
Males have a conspicuous knobbed red bill that brightens even more in the breeding season.
Highly gregarious during the molt, pairs disperse widely during the breeding season to nest in tree cavities, rabbit holes, or even under buildings. The much darker, beautifully marked, Australian Shelducks form long term pair bonds. Photo by Jessie Cohen, NZP Dabbling ducks , typified by the ubiquitous Mallard, are the most numerous and well-known of the world's waterfowl tribes. Dabblers have the typical flat duck bill that they use to forage in shallow water. Rows of horny plates, called lamellae, that line the bill enable them to filter food items from the water.